ARMY MEDICAL  LIBRARY

        WASHINGTON

           Founded. 1836
Section-
Number .../..Q.J.j^.j..
Fobm 113c, W. D., S. G. O.
 (Revised June 13, 1936) 
VSHSa£S£SL___-. 
PHRENOLOG-l.OAL  BUST,
             See Page 164. 
ETHEROLOGY;
OR,
THE PHILOSOPHY OF MESMERISM
PHRENOLOGY:
INCLUDING A NEW
PHILOSOPHY OF SLEEP AND OF CONSCIOUSNESS,
WITH A REVIEW OF
THE PRETENSIONS OF NEUROLOGY AND PHRENO-MAGNETISM-
          BY J. STANLEY GRIMES,

COUNSELLOR AT LAW, FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE WESTERN PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETY,
  PROFESSOB OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE IN THE CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE,
          AND AUTHOR OF ' A NEW SYSTEM OF PHRENOLOGY.'
 All the known phenomena of the universe may be referred to three general princi-
ples, viz.: Matter, Motion, and Consciousness.—p. 17.
              NEW  YOR^^r^-^T
SAXTON  AND MILES, NO.  205  BROADWAY
      PHILADELPHIA:—JAMES M. CAMPBELL.
        BOSTON '.--SAXTON, PEIRCE & CO.

                   1845.
 
GSLZe.
  124 5"
  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by


               J. STANLEY GRIMES,


In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
                   of New York. 
CONTENTS.
                       SECTION I
SYNOPSIS OF  ETHEROLOGY

                       SECTION II.
HISTORY OF ETHERIUM      .....     39
  Ignorance of the Ancients concerning the causes of Ethe-
    rean Phenomena — Witchcraft — Divination — Magic—
    Discoveries which led to a Scientific Knowledge of Ethe-
    ropathy—Van Helmot—Mesmer—His Career—D'Eslon
    —Adverse Report of the French Commissioners—Foissac
    and the Academy of Medicine—Their favorable  report
    —Gall—La Place.

                       SECTION  III.
NATURE OF  ETHERIUM      .....     75
  Theory of Light—Of Heat—Of Electricity—Of Magnetism—
    Of Gravitation—Newton's Conjecture—Rev. Mr.  Town-
    shend on the Mesmeric  Medium—Sunderland's Notions
    —Animal Electricity—Experiments  of Crosse—Electric
    Fishes.

                       SECTION  IV.
OXYGEN   ........     127

                       SECTION V.
PHILOSOPHY OF SLEEP      .....     130
  Liebig's Error.
PAGE.
  17 
VI                    CONTENTS.
                      SECTION VI.
ORGAN OF  CONSCIOUSNESS    .....    136
  Infusoria—Immortality—Rationalism.

                      SECTION VII.
INTER-PHRENO SENSES       .      .     .      .     .149
  External Senses—Internal Corporeal Senses—Cousin's Cri-
    ticism upon Locke.

                      SECTION VIII.
MOTION     .      .     .     .      .     .      .     .155
  All motion communicated—Nothing originates motion but
    God—Sympathy is same motion.

                       SECTION IX.
TRIUNE  SYSTEM OF PHRENOLOGY  ....    164
  Temperaments—Engraving and  bust to show the location
    of the Organs—Summary of the Principles of Phrenology.

                       SECTION X.
 ETHEROPATHY    .......    181
   Credencive Induction—Imitativeness—Credenciveness.

                       SECTION XI.
 ETHEROPATHY, CONTINUED   .....    210
   Clairvoyance.

                       SECTION XII.
 ETHEROPATHY, CONTINUED   .....    219
   Abnormal Sleep—Manifestations of Uncommon Strength—
      Conferring Power on Medicine, Water, &c.—Reading Cha-
      racter—Discoveries in Phrenology and Physiology  by
      Fowler, Buchanan and Sunderland. 
CONTENTS.                 vii
                      SECTION X1I1.
NEUROLOGY       .......    248
  Buchanan—Caldwell's Letter—Buchanan's Discoveries —
    His " Catalogue of Organs."

                      SECTION XIV.
PHRENO-MAGNETISM, PATHETISM AND HYPNOTISM   .    271
  Polarity of Organs—Sunderland's Experiments  and Dis-
    coveries—London Phrenological Society Meeting—Elliot-
    son's  Address—Gardiner's Experiments—The Doctrines
    Denied — Reasons— Elliotson's Experiments — Lang—
    Braid.

                       SECTION XV.
COMMUNION WITH SPIRITS    .....    304

                      SECTION XVI.
ABUSES OF ETHEROPATHY    .....    309
  Immoral Induction—Local Induction.

                      SECTION XVII.
RULES FOR EXPERIMENTS     .....    314
  Credencive Experiments—Experiments during Somnambu-
     lism—Upon Diseased Persons.

                      SECTION  XVIII.
INDUCTION OF BRUTE  ANIMALS    ....   322
  The  " Charm"  of Serpents — Dr.  Wilson's Experiments
     upon Animals.

                        APPENDIX.
 EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION     .....    331
  Resolutions passed at Union College—Horsford's  Report
     adopted by the Albany Phrenological Society—Lectures
     at Albany—Resolutions adopted, &c.—Lectures in Hud-
     son—Resolutions adopted. 
                    ERRATA.

Page.5, Contents, Section II., for Van Helmot read. Van Helmont
Page 6, Contents, Section VI., for Rationalism read Materialism.
In page 1 of Preface, 10th line  from bottom,  for  credulity read
  incredulity.
Page 40, 15th line from top, for sensation read veneration.
Page 40, 10th line from top, for principals read priestesses.
I have sometimes used the word etherium when I meant motions •
  of etherium. 
P R E F A  C E.Vi<y  9
   While hundreds, and perhaps thousands, are en-
gaged in repeating old experiments, and trying new
ones in  Mesmerism and Clairvoyance, no  successful
attempt has hitherto been made to explain the pheno-
mena upon scientific principles, and to show their con-
sistency with previously known truth.
   In philosophy facts are useful only as far as they
lead to a true theory, and a theory is only a  method of
showing the true relation which exists among the facts.
   When a theory is, or seems to be, well established,
any fact which appears to militate against it is  apt to
be disputed, or received with caution  and  credulity.
For this reason mankind have been  disposed to oppose
new discoveries and innovations which render a change
necessary in their theories, creeds, opinions or habits.
It is not because they are unfriendly to improvement,
but because they doubt the reality of the discovery, or
the real practical importance and utility of the proposed
change.   It rather demonstrates their love of  truth,
for they, like St.  Paul, verily  believe that they are
doing their duty by resisting the introduction of error.
But if the new truth can be made to harmonise with
the old opinions,  it is then cordially received into the 
X                 PREFACE.
family of admitted facts, which go  to  constitute our
favorite theories.  The facts of a science may be com-
pared to the scattered and broken bones of a skeleton,
while a theory is the method by which they can be put
together and proved to belong all of them to one ani-
mal.
  The facts in mesmerism call to mind a collection of
strange bones once  found  in England, which appar-
ently belonged to  animals of a different kind from any
that had ever been known  to exist on earth.  Some
very  learned and sagacious men at first denied the
existence of the bones ; but when they were dragged
to light, and protruded before them so that they could
no  longer avoid acknowledging their existence, they
declared that such  enormous limbs must have a su-
pernatural origin, and that they were undoubtedly the
bones of fallen angels !   Upon further examination by
scientific men,  it  was found that they were bones of
whales, and other marine animals, that had been ages
ago " in the  deep bosom of the  ocean buried," and
that the place had been afterwards raised to eminence,
like classic Delos, upon the shoulders of an ambitious
and aspiring volcano.
  The facts in mesmerism are exceedingly numerous,
and some of them of a most wonderful  and monstrous
character.  They have been denied again and again,
even by those who have witnessed them ; and when
admitted to be true they have also been accounted for
by  referring them to a supernatural origin ; but the 
                    PREFACE.                 Xi
 time has come when these facts should, like the facts
 in  Geology, Chemistry and  Astronomy, be  wrested
 from the hands of superstition, mystery and quackery,
 and  moulded into symmetrical forms  of  scientific
 beauty.  This is a most difficult and laborious task, and
 any one who undertakes it may fairly claim  some in-
 dulgence for the imperfections of his performance.  I
 am desirous to do for mesmerism what my friends claim
 that I have  done for phrenology—to reduce it to a
 scientific system.
   In the  year  1834 I commenced lecturing upon
 Phrenology, but did not otherwise publish my pecu-
 liar views of this science until 1839, when my " New
 System of  Phrenology" was  laid before  the  public.
 That work  contained a new classification and arrange-
 ment of  the Phreno-organs, a new system of Phreno-
 Physiognomy,  a  new doctrine of hereditary resem-
 blance, and several  newly  discovered Phreno-Organs.
 That these things were not  essentially new no one
 has attempted to show, but their truth was denied  by
 every author who had previously committed himself
 by advocating different doctrines upon these subjects.
  Mr. George Combe had just arrived in this country
 at the time when the work was issued.  It was gene-
 rally  understood  that the  mantle of  the illustrious
 Spurzheim had  fallen in  an especial manner upon
 him;  and I was therefore desirous to receive his sanc-
 tion of the new doctrines which I had advanced.  But
before I had an opportunity to make his acquaintances 
Xll               PREFACE.
I learned that he considered the New System as dan-
gerous to his own personal ambition, and that on this
ground he opposed it, not by fact or argument, but by
his influence with his friends.  He avoided mention-
ing it in his lectures  and writings, and when the sub-
ject was urged upon  his attention  by some one who
thought my doctrines correct, he  seemed to be ex-
ceedingly annoyed and irritated.  Under these circum-
stances I declined  his acquaintance,  and determined
to appeal to the  scientific public.   I was then engaged
in lecturing in Pittsburg, Penn.; and  being informed
by a  correspondent that Mr. Combe  was to lecture
in Albany, I immediately proceeded to that city and
gave  a course of lectures, in which I  stated to the
highly respectable audience that attended, the grounds
of the difference between the two systems. At the
conclusion of my course  I was gratified to find my
system had made a favorable impression, the evidence
of which may be found in the proceedings and reso-
lutions recorded in the appendix to this work.
   I then proceeded to the  city of New-York, where I
delivered  a very successful course  of lectures.  In the
meantime Mr. Combe gave his lectures in Albany, and
at their conclusion a Phrenological Society was formed,
and Mr. Combe's  collection of plaster casts of heads
purchased  for illustrations.   The  relative merits  of
the two systems became the subject of much discus-
sion, and I was invited to return to  Albany and repeat
my lectures.   I consented, and  finding  that the 
                  PREFACE.                Xlll
influence of Combe,  Caldwell and  Fowler was all
united to create a state of public opinion unfavorable
to what I deemed  the cause of truth, I was desirous
to provoke a discussion which would  give me an op-
portunity to vindicate myself.   I therefore addressed
a letter to the President of the Phrenological Society,
requesting the appointment of a committee  composed
of their most competent members, to investigate and
determine the relative merits of the two systems.  The
committee seemed to  be actuated only by the spirit of
truth; and accordingly, after a laborious investigation,
and after corresponding with Combe, Caldwell, Has-
kins, and other distinguished  authors, they made a
unanimous report in my favor.  This report produced
a very powerful sensation.  It consists of twenty-eight
pages, drawn up in a masterly manner by the chair-
man, Professor E. N. Horsford, and laid before the
Society  for  their  consideration.    Professor  Dean,
 (author of several very able works on Phrenology,)
read an argument of  thirty pages in  opposition to the
report.   One of his  adherents  read  another of about
equal length.  At the same time the American Phre-
nological Journal arrived  in the city, thirteen pages
of  which were occupied with a very hostile review of
my book,  written by Dr.  Caldwell, of Kentucky, a
gentleman of great ability, and the  author of  several
works upon this subject.
   Professor Horsford replied to the objections and ar-
 guments which had been adduced, and in the face of 
XIV               P R F E A C E .
the whole array of eloquence, authorities and prejudice,
succeeded in obtaining for his report the sanction of a
large majority of the Society, after it had been six
months under  their inspection, and the ingenuity of
the most able critics in the country exhausted upon it.
It is  worthy of  remark that when the  investigation
commenced not one of the committee approved of my
views.
   This Report  was  all that  I  could wish.   Two
thousand  copies  were  printed, and  it was widely
circulated.  It was sent to every one who was sup-
posed to take especial interest in the subject—but  up
to the  present time  no one has attempted  to con-
trovert  its positions,  or deny the correctness  of  its
conclusions.
   If any  one  inquires why all  phrenological authors
and lecturers  did not at once  adopt this system, or
else show its imperfections, I can only answer by re-
ferring to the  history of other improvements.  Human
nature  always exhibits the same  traits  under similar
circumstances.
   When the Albany Report was sent by the Chair-
man  to a periodical which professed to be a Phreno-
logical Journal,  the editor was not permitted to  notice
it, such was the hostility of the proprietor to the new
system.   I will not comment upon these facts, but
content myself  by making  them  known.  In  the
meantime, the public generally, and all  those who
 (not being  themselves authors, nor the dependents 
                   PREFACE.                 XV
of authors), were disinterested  and  independent,
without a  single  exception within  my knowledge,
have admitted the  correctness of the Report, and the
superiority of the new system.
  When the  doctrines  of  Phreno-Magnetism  and
Neurology  were announced, and  were making con-
verts by thousands, and  multitudes of new organs
were daily discovered by these means, so  that my
favorite science was threatened with  an overwhelm-
ing inundation,  I  was forced to  take up this subject
in earnest.   Almost  every friend I met asked my
opinion of the new doctrines and new organs, and
seemed surprised at my skepticism.   This has led me
to the determination of publishing this volume, that I
may thus at once  justify myself,  and vindicate what
seem to me the true principles of phrenology.   If I
am mistaken  in any of the positions which I have
assumed, there will doubtless be enough to correct me,
and I shall acknowledge the correction with gratitude.
I have several times given the substance of this work
in public lectures—and the approbation with which
it has been received,  especially at West Point and at
Union College* far surpassed my most sanguine hopes.
   The plan which I have adopted for this work is, to
present first a brief outline or summary of the whole,
comprised in a few pages, and  then  to  take up each-
important topic and treat it separately.  It appears to
* See Appendix, p. 331, 348. 
 XVI               PREFACE.
 me that this method will assist both the understanding
 and the memory of the reader.
   In regard to other authors, I have made use of their
 language wherever I adopted their ideas, provided I
 found them suitably expressed, and in such cases I
 have given all due  credit.  Wherever I differ from
 others, I have quoted their expressions sufficiently to
 do justice to  their real meaning, and then freely and
 frankly given my own opinion,  and exposed what ap-
 peared  to me to be  their errors.  There has been
 so many new  doctrines advanced within a short time,
 both on  the subject  of  Phrenology and Mesmerism,
 that I must necessarily assume the office of a critic in
 speaking of the performances of others.  I am aware
 that I shall be liable to the charge of arrogance ;  but
 at the present time, scarcely two Phrenologians  nor
 Mesmerologists can be  found who agree; any one,
 therefore, who treats upon both these subjects at once,
 with the design of producing an  harmonious system,
 must seem to  assume that he is wiser  than dl others,
 and capable of filling the chair of grand-master of the
 fraternity.  No modesty of expression,  nor respect-
 fulness of style can shield  him from this imputation.
 Under  these circumstances I have deemed it best to
" speak right straight on," regardless of the apparent
egotism,  and to " utter my thoughts"  with entire in-
dependence of every thing but truth and justice.
                            J. STANLEY GRIMES.
  Lansingburgh, Rensselaer Co.,N. Y. 
          ETHEROLOGY;

                        OR,

THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  MESMERISM.
SECTION   I.
          SYNOPSIS  OF  ETHEROLOGY.
   1.. All the known phenomena  of the  universe may be
referred to three general  principles, viz.:  matter, motion,
and consciousness.   Every thing that we know is a modifi-
cation of one or all of these three.

   2. Orre portion of matter cannot influence another, nor
can one mind influence another, but through the instrumen-
tality of motion.

   3. One thing  cannot influence  another with which it  is
not in contact, unless there is some material substance ex-
isting or passing  between every portion of the space which
separates them ;—that  is, no motion can be communicated
from one body, nor  from one mind to another, unless there
is a material connection;—therefore, when one does influence
another, there is necessarily a material connection, through
the medium of which motion is communicated.
                2 
18
SYNOPSIS.
  4. Fact. The planets influence each other and the earth.
  Fact. Philosophers agree that the (so called) ponderable
matter of the atmosphere does not extend more  than eighty
miles above the earth's surface.
  Fact. Heat, light, electricity, magnetism, and gravitation,
operate in an exhausted receiver, as well as elsewhere.^
  Fact. One mind sometimes influences another independ-
ently of ordinary sensation  or muscular  motion, without
contact or perceptible connection.
  Inference. There is a material substance occupying space,
which connects the  planets and the earth,  and  which
communicates light, heat, electricity, gravitation, and mental
emotion, from  one body to another, and from one mind to
another.
  Name.  I shall denominate this substance Etherium.

  5. Definition. Etherium is an exceedingly subtile and elastic
substance.   Its constituent atoms are  inconceivably small.
It sometimes  exists in  a separate state, and sometimes it
exists in  combination with  ponderable substances; some-
times it is comparatively at rest, and sometimes in  motion.
When it  comes in contact  with ponderable matter, it  is
capable of receiving or of communicating motion.
  The phenomena of heat,  light, gravitation, electricity,
magnetism, muscular motion, and mesmerism, are only the
results of different motions and modus operandi of  etherium.

  6.  Motion has but two attributes, viz : quantity and direc-
tion.   The origin of motion, like the origin of matter, is be-
yond the sphere of  human  knowledge.   We see motion
communicated  from one thing to another, but we  know not
" whence it cometh nor whither it goeth;" and we  can never
know, unless we can " by searching  find out God."  We
only know motion by its effects upon matter, and, from ob-
serving these effects,  philosophers have discovered certain
general rules which they denominate the laws of motion. 
S YNOPSIS.
19
  7. It is a law of motion, that when two  bodies are both
perfectly elastic, and both move in the same  direction, in
the same right line,—if one moves  more rapidly, and over-
takes and strikes the other, both will continue afterwards to
move in the same direction with  equal rapidity, the  sum
of the  two motions being the same that it  was before; for
what is lost by one is gained by the other.
  If they move with equal force from  opposite directions,
and  come in contact, they will  rebound, and both move in
contrary directions with equal velocities.   If one of the op-
posing  bodies is of inferior force, it  will, after contact, tend
to conform in its direction to that of the superior force, to a
degree equal to its inferiority.

  8. If two bodies come in contact which are both destitute
of elasticity, neither will rebound ; if the forces are unequal,
the motion after contact will be equal to the difference ; but
if they are equal, both will  lose all tendency  to continue
their former motion.   These laws of motion apply to all
known bodies, and aid  us in solving many of the operations
of etherium ; since this substance is composed of atoms, or
exceedingly minute elastic bodies, which move in right lines
to produce the phenomena of light,  heat, elasticity, gravita-
tion, and mesmerism.

  9. There are two equal and antagonistic  forces in nature,
the origin of both of which is unknown.   They are some-
times denominated centripetal and centrifugal forces, some-
times attraction and repulsion, and sometimes positive and ne-
gative forces. These two forces being equal, balance each other
continually, except when  other forces  interfere to  destroy
the balance ;—then both these forces move, though in oppo-
site  directions, until  both  are  again antagonized  and
balanced.
  These two forces are communicated by means of etherium, 
20
SYNOPSIS.
and all the positive and negative phenomena are  produced
by the disturbance of the balance  of antagonistic columns
of etherium.   There are many reasons for concluding  that
even muscular  motion and sensation are referable to  this
cause.

   10. The phenomena of sensation and muscular motion,
both voluntary and involuntary, are produced  by the  mo-
tions  of  etherium,  communicated  from certain external
objects  to certain internal organs  or points in the nervous
system, and from these points  back again to the external
objects.

   11. There are two distinct classes of motions in man and
all other animals, viz.: Voluntary and Involuntary.   The
involuntary motions are produced  by currents of etherium
communicated from  the  surfaces  of the  heart,  stomach,
and other involuntary muscular organs, to certain different
points in the  nervous sj'stem, denominated  ganglions, and
from these ganglionic points back again to the heart, stomach,
etc.;  thus completing  a  circuit which  exactly  resembles
that of a galvanic apparatus.

   12.  The voluntary motions are  produced by currents  of
etherium, communicated from different  external  objects  to
one point in the medulla oblongata, which point may be deno-
minated the organ of Consciousness; and, from that  con-
scious point,  back again, through  the nerves, to external
objects, completing another circuit, which, in every essen-
tial, is precisely like those of the involuntary system,  with
this exception, that the central point of the voluntary sys-
tem is endowed with Consciousness, but the central points
of the involuntary system are not so endowed.

   13. The external senses are avenues through which ethe-
rium is permitted, constitutionally,  to pass to the phreno-or- 
SYNOPSIS.
21
gans of the brain; and the phreno-organs are avenues through
which the etherium from the senses and from the blood is
modified and transmitted to the organ of Consciousness, and
from thence, through the motor nerves, to the muscles ; and,
as the muscles make some resistance, motion is the conse-
quence.  After the etherium has produced motion, it passes
to the external world, and mingles with the general mass of
etherium.

   14.  The organ of consciousness is thus the central head-
quarters, where  all external impressions terminate,  and
whence all voluntary movements emanate.  It is  the start-
ing point and termination of the  circuit.

   15.  In performing this circuit  the motions of  the ethe-
rium are peculiarly modified in each  successive  avenue  or
stage through which it is obliged to pass, and this modifica-
tion is undoubtedly regulated by the laws of motion already
mentioned.
   First.  Etherium is modified by each external object from
which it emanates ; for there is no doubt  that every object
imparts its own peculiar characters, in some degree at least,
to the etherium which it is continually receiving and emit-
ting : this doctrine is a part  of the modern theory of heat,
light, and magnetism, and it applies equally to those emana-
tions which  produce sound,  odor, savor, &c.
   Second. Etherium  is modified again by the intervening
medium  through  which it passes from external objects  to
the external organs of sense;  thus,  light is refracted and
otherwise modified in passing through  air,  vapor,  water,
glass, &c, so also is sound modified by the varying density,
rarity or elasticity of the medium through which its ethe-
rium  is propagated; and the same  is true  of  odors  and
savors,—for all these sensations unquestionably depend upon
currents of etherium. 
22
SYNOPSIS.
   Third. It is modified also by the structure  and condition
of the external organs of the senses through which it enters,
—as the external eye, ear, and nose.
  Fourth. Etherium  is modified by the  structure and size
and condition of the nerves through which it passes from
the external organs  of sense to the phreno-organs,—as the
optic, the auditory, the gustatory, &c.
  Fifth. It is modified by the  phreno-organs.
   Sixth. By the organ of consciousness.
   Seventh.  By  the   nerves of  motion  through which it
passes from consciousness to the muscles.
   Eighth.  By the muscles.
   Ninth. By  the surrounding objects  to which it passes
after  it has been expended upon the muscles.  All these
different and successive avenues constitute the circuit.

   16.  The phreno-organs not  only modify and transmit the
etherium which they receive from the nerves of sensation,
but they also receive a large quantity of etherium from the
blood, and transmit  it, through consciousness, to the mus-
cles.   It would seem, indeed, that the senses merely admit
as much etherium as will serve to excite the phreno-organs
to discharge their accumulations through the motor nerves
and muscles.

   17. The modification of motion which each phreno-organ
produces in the etherium which passes through it, is pecu-
liar to  itself and different in  each one from that of every
other.  This is proved by the fact that the consciousness
produced by each organ is peculiar to itself, so that we can
distinguish between  the consciousness produced  by any one
organ, and that produced by any other.   Thus, Destructive-
ness and Cautiousness,  and Kindness and Color, produce
greatly different  states of consciousness, and such as are
easily distinguished from each other. 
SYNOPSIS.                  23
  18. Consciousness is produced in the same manner in all
other animals as in man.   All animals have  a central organ
of Consciousness, but some classes of animals have a greater
number of modifying avenues ; that is, they have a greater
number of senses and phreno-organs, through which ethe-
rium enters  to effect  consciousness.   Some  classes of
animals also, have a greater number of avenues, (nerves of
motion,) through which  etherium passes from the central
organ of Consciousness.  It  is this difference in the number
and  kind of avenues to and from Consciousness which is at
the foundation of the science of Comparative Phrenology.

   19. In  animals of the same class,—in man, for instance—
the  number and kind  of avenues, to and from consciousness,
is the same in every individual, except in cases of deformi-
ty.   But even in the same class, whether we compare dif-
ferent men, or different avenues in the  same man, there is
an essential difference in the size, the capacity, the calibre,
the  condition, the strength and perfection, of the avenues to
 and from Consciousness.   It is the difference in these re-
 spects which is the basis of Practical Phrenology, as applied
 to mankind.

   20. There is a class of organs or fibres, which may be
 denominated inter-phreno senses;  the office of which  is to
 convey currents of etherium from the  organ, of conscious-
 ness to the several phreno-organs ; so that  each phreno-or-
 gan may  act or not, in any given case, according to the
 condition of Consciousness.
   When any phreno-organ acts, it necessarily produces con-
 sciousness before it produces muscular motion ; and, as every
 phreno-organ is in communication with Consciousness, by
 means of the inter-phreno senses, each organ will, of course, be
 excited according to the impression it receives from Con-
 sciousness.  The idea may be expressed thus: Whenever Con- 
24
SYNOPSIS.
sciousness is impressed by one phreno-organ, it radiates the
impression to all the other  phreno-organs.  I do not, how-
ever, pretend that the inter-phreno-senses have been demon-
strated  by experiment, or anatomy ; (unless  the diverging
fibres discovered by Spurzheim perform this office;) my
notions on this  subject are founded  on reason rather than
observation.  I consider them as legitimate inferences from
admitted facts.

   21. The  quantity of etherium evolved  from  the blood
to carry on the operations of  the constitution, is in propor-
tion to the quantity of oxygen which combines in the lungs
with the  food  from the  stomach.  The quantity  of the
action of any animal is in proportion to the amount of oxy-
gen consumed.

   22. As a general proposition, the larger the lungs, com-
pared with the stomach, in man, or any animal, ceteris pari-
bus, the more  concentrated  is the food chosen, and the
more rapid is the digestion and secretion.  On the contrary,
the smaller the lungs, compared with the stomach, the coarser
and less concentrated is the food, and the slower it is digested.
The reason is this : the oxygen unites with the food  in defi-
nite proportions, so that when the  lungs are small and the
stomach large, the lungs must work rapidly to supply  oxy-
gen to the food,  or else the digestion will be slow.   When
the lungs are large and the stomach small, the stomach must
work rapidly to supply food to the  oxygen.

  23. If an ordinary sized  stomach and lungs be supplied
with a moderate quantity of  rather coarse and unconcen-
trated food, the etherium will be generated  slowly, and the
operations of mind and body will be moderate.   But if, with
the same lungs and stomach, a concentrated and stimulating
kind of food be used which saturates all the oxygen which 
SYNOPSIS.
25
the lungs can supply, the quantity of etherium generated in
a given  time will be much greater, and  the operations of
body and mind will be proportionably vigorous and  ener-
getic.

  24. The blood goes from the lungs to the heart charged
with oxygen, and from the heart  to  the innumerable arte-
rial extremities  or capillaries ; and it is in passing through
these minute capilliary tubes that the chemical process takes
place, which produces the motions of etherium on  which
life and thought depend.

  25.  Etherium,evolvedby the decomposition of  the  blood
in the  capillaries of the brain, passes through the voluntary
motor nerves to the voluntary muscles, producing voluntary
motion.  It enters the ganglions  and passes  to the  invol-
untary  muscles,  and produces  involuntary motion.   The
blood also  furnishes etherium.  to the  muscular and  other
tissues to enable them to  transmit sensations to the  gang-
lions and brain, and  thus  to  solicit motion in return  for
sensation.

  26. The perfection and  energy with which  etherium is
evolved  from the blood in the capillaries, and  imparted to
the nerves, depends upon the health and  condition  of the
minute structure of the  capillaries in which the operation is
performed.  This again  depends  upon the "climate, habits,
food, health and appetite of the individual. These are  cir-
cumstances difficult to define, and still more difficult to esti-
mate.

  27. All the etherium evolved by the blood is divided be-
tween the voluntary and involuntary organs;  or, in  other
words, it is divided between the brain and its dependencies,
and the ganglions and their dependencies. The share allot-
                   2* 
26
SYNOPSIS.
ted to each is in proportion to  their relative quantities of
muscular motion and functional  action.

  28. The involuntary motions are continued without in-
terruption from the commencement of life until its termina-
tion ;  in fact, they  constitute life.   But the  voluntary mo-
tions are suspended in man about one third of the time : in
some  classes of animals more, in others less.  During  this
regular suspension of voluntary motion we are said to sleep.

  29. The reason  of this suspension,  or sleep, is founded
upon  economy.  It is not necessary for us  to  keep awake
twenty-four hours, for we can perform all our duties in less
time ; accordingly, there is not sufficient etherium evolved
during twenty-fourhours to supply both the voluntary and
involuntary systems during the  whole of that time.

   30. If the involuntary motions are suspended, we die.  If
the voluntary, we  sleep.  If both continue till the etherium
is exhausted, we  die ;  as there is not sufficient etherium
generated to supply both systems continually.

   31. The material, (carbon andhydrogen,) which combines
with  oxygen to produce motions of etherium, is all generat-
ed and  secreted by the involuntary organs, and as  much is
used by them as they need ; the surplus is expended through
the voluntary organs, the intercommunication which exists
between the voluntary and involuntary systems allowing of
this arrangement.

   32. The predominant influence of the involuntary system
which enables it thus to monopolize all the etherium during
sleep,doubtless depends upon the superior energy of the impres-
sions  upon the involuntary senses compared with those of the
voluntary senses; or, in other words, upon the superior force 
                                                     27
of the currents of etherium which the involuntary senses
send to the ganglions to excite them to send motions in  re-
turn.   For if the voluntary senses are impressed in an ex-
traordinary manner, sleep is delayed  and the voluntary sys-
tem gains a temporary triumph.

   33. There is an accumulation of nutritious substance in cer-
tain reservoirs during sleep, which is ready to combine with
oxygen and evolve etherium when we awake.  This surplus,
accumulated  during sleep, is generally equal  to  the deficit
produced while awake.

   34. In order to illustrate this subject, let us consider the
voluntary and involuntary muscles of man as two machines,
A and B, moved by one galvanic battery (which is supplied
with acid, made from  alcohol combined with oxygen—let
the oxygen enter by one passage, and the alcohol hy another,
and let  them  meet in a common passage, just as the  air in
the lungs meets the food  from  the stomach—so  let them
meet and unite,  and form acid).   Let the size and number
of plates to the battery, and the amount of alcohol, be limit-
ed to generate an amount of etherium equal in force to 8 lbs.
per hour. Now let A use 6 and B 3 lbs. per hour. Let A go con-
tinually, and  B only  when there is a spare surplus.  Have
the connection of A and B such,  that B cannot start unless
there is an accumulated surplus of acid, equal to 16 lbs. of
force.   Now set it in operation, and  A will go continually,
but B will alternately  rest (sleep) 8  hours and move 16.
A separate contrivance might be made to carry away the
oxide  and replace it  by an equivalent of metalic paste, thus
representing absorption and assimilation.   Another contriv-
ance could, by  means  of several  magnets influencing B
and causing it to increase or diminish its  motion, represent
the influence  of the external world upon man.  Here, then,
we should  have  the representation  of a galvanic animal, 
28
SYNOPSIS.
  without Consciousness ;  one that sleeps regularly 8 hours
  out of 24, because there is not  etherium enough generated
  to keep both its systems in operation a longer time.
    35.  The manner in which  one  man can induct  or mes-
  merise another, and the principles of Etherology involved,
  may be well illustrated by the following statement:
    If two galvanic batteries are put in operation, and brought
  into contact, they will not  interfere with each other while
  their isolation is unimpaired.  But if they are brought into
  communication and  made  to interfere, by the removal of
  the isolation, then the more powerful will overcome and
  neutralise the  weaker, and  send a  current  of etherium
  around the nerves and through both batteries.

   36. If two batteries of equal force are brought into com-
 munication, the effect will depend upon the direction of the
 two forces.   If the direction  is the same in both, no effect
 is observed except an  increased energy of the same mo-
 tion, but if the direction is contrary they neutralize  each
 other.  If the two forces are unequal, so that one (C) is
 equal to ten, and another (D) to fifteen, and the directions are
 contrary when they come into collision, the ten of (C) will
 neutralise ten of (D), and the remaining five of (D) will produce
 a current through both batteries with a force equal to five.
   If the two  forces are unequal, and both moving in  the
 same direction, when brought into communication  the two
 forces will unite and compromise  so  as to  be equal,  the
 inferior gaining, and the superior losing in the same degree,
 but the sum of the two forces remains the same.  These
 laws of motion, applicable to galvanic  batteries, are doubt-
 less equally operative in mesmerism and all other etherean
 manifestations.

  37. The knowledge of the laws which govern etherium
under all circumstances, and in all its manifestations, I shall 
SYNOPSIS.
29
 venture to denominate Etherology.  The doctrines concern-
 ing  the  agency  of etherium  in producing  the  motions
 of body and mind, in the healthful and normal  state, I shall
 denominate Ethero-physiology.    Etheropathy  is a  term
 which I shall  use to include all  the phenomena  which are
 known to the  public under the various names of Mesmer-
 ism, Animal Magnetism, Neurology, Pathetism, Hypnotism,
 Catalepsy, Somnambulism, Clairvoyance, &c. &c.
   They are all produced by motions  of etherium in a de-
 ranged and abnormal state of the constitution.

  38. The organs of man may be in a normal or in an abnormal
 condition.  When their operations are healthful and regular
 they are said to be normal; when deranged or irregular they
 are said to be  abnormal.  This is more precise and correct
 than to use the words natural and unnatural, or healthful
 and diseased, to express the same ideas.

  39.  Etheropathy is the result of an abnormal condition
 of the constitution, a degenerated or morbid state which is
 inconsistent with a constitution sound and perfect in all its
 parts.  Any rational explanation of  Etheropathy or mes-
 merism must be based upon this principle, that it  is in every
 case a departure from, and violation  of, the ordinary laws
 of man and the designs of the Creator.  In this explanation
 the distinction between the normal and abnormal  conditions
 must  be  borne in mind  continually;  the  two states must
 not be confounded;  for,  to  explain  any extraordinary
 pathological phenomena, we must first  know  what  is  the
 normal or physiological  operation  the  derangement  of
 which constitutes the abnormal operation.

  40.  The diversion of etherium, from its normal and con-
stitutional avenues, is the cause  of all  the  phenomena of
 Etheropathy,  or  mesmerism; in  explaining  each  case,
therefore, we may consider, 
30
SYNOPSIS.
  First,  From  what  point  is  the  etherium  normally
evolved ?
  Second, Through what avenues does it normally pass,
and what is the state of their isolation ?
  Third, To what point does it normally tend ?
  Fourth, With what force is it normally evolved ?
  Fifth,  With  what  counter force does it normally con-
tend?
  Sixth, When diverted from its legitimate avenues by ab-
normal forces, what other avenues does it find ?
  Seventh, What extraordinary effects are  produced by the
derangement ?

  41. Etheropathy may be divided into Spontaneous and
Artificial.
  Spontaneous Etheropathy is of frequent occurrence in
medical practice, and many interesting cases  of this kind
are recorded in medical books,  in which  somnambulism,
trance, clairvoyance, and,  in  short, all the mesmeric phe-
nomena, have been produced by disease, and  without  the
design of any human operator.
  The case  of Jane C. Rider, of Springfield, in Massachu-
setts, occurred while  I  was a temporary  resident in that
place.   She spontaneously manifested  all the powers of
clairvoyance, in  a community where no such thing had ever
been witnessed before, and where mesmerism was unknown.
There are many other  similar cases  which  establish  the
fact that no  human operator is necessary, but that the sub-
ject contains within himself all the essential elements re-
quired to produce the result.    Those,  therefore, who
attribute so much potency to  the will of the operator, or to
sympathy with him, are obviously mistaken, since the same
effects may be produced without any human operator.   All
that is necessary is, that currents of etherium should enter
and pass through abnormal avenues; but whether those cur- 
o x  im u r o 1 n •
31
rents proceed  from a human operator, or from inanimate
objects, is evidently immaterial.

  42. There are many instances of spontaneous Etheropa-
thy, in which the peculiar condition of the  subject predis-
posed him to be thus affected, in such a way that he became
inducted when in the company of some person who was
utterly ignorant of his own power and agency in the opera-
tion.  The  extraordinary cases of witchcraft which occur-
red in Salem were undoubtedly of this character.

   43.  Many of the phenomena  of Etheropathy have been
produced by design, after the spontaneous predisposition had
been discovered and manifested accidentally, though neither
the operator nor  the subject was aware of the real agency
used.   This was the case of some of the  Salem witches,
and the priestesses of some of the ancient oracles ; it was true,
also, of some  of the ancient modes of healing the sick ; and,
perhaps, we may, under this enumeration, include the cases
(if they may be believed) of one animal charming another
 by this agency.

   44. In most instances among the ancients, when men
 have been aware of the existence of this power, it has been
 attributed to the agency of supernatural beings : sometimes
 good, but  generally evil,  spirits have been  charged with
 being the principal operators.   When men have been thus
 spontaneously affected, to such a degree as  to become in-
 sane, they  were often said to be " possessed of a devil;"
 and the process of curing them by exorcism, or the will and
 influence and prayers of some powerful and good man, was
 called  " casting out devils."

    45.  Since the time  of Van  Helmont and Mesmer, the
 operator and subject have both  generally understood that a 
32
SYNOPSIS.
 natural  and controlable  agent was employed, though  they
 have not been able to explain its  nature.  It is from these
 modern  operators that it has received the names of Mesmer-
 ism, Animal Magnetism, Neurology, and Pathetism.  There
 are many of these persons at present in this country, who
 believe, though I think without  reason, that  there is some-
 thing supernatural in many of the  phenomena.

   46.  Artificial Etheropathy  is caused by currents of
 etherium being artificially and  intentionally forced by the
 operator to act in opposition to the normal currents of the
 subject: this process has been called mesmerising, magne-
 tising, willing, charming, &c.   I call it inducting or ether-
 ising.

   47.  The constitution of the organs of man is such as to
 isolate  them from  the  influence  of external currents of
 etherium,  and to prevent  impressions  being  made  upon
 them,  excepting  through  certain  avenues  denominated
 senses; and even  through these  avenues the etherium  can
 only pass  in a prescribed manner, which is different  and
 peculiar  in each of the  different senses.  This isolation is
 somewhat analogous to the isolation which is necessary in
 galvanic  and electric machinery.
   Etheropathy is always in opposition to this organic isola-
 tion, and can only be produced by an induction sufficiently
 powerful to break through the barrier which was intended
 by the Creator to prevent the internal organs and functions
 from improper external influences.

   48.  Susceptibility to mesmeric induction depends upon
three causes.
   First, The imperfect condition of that peculiar  structure
of the organs which  constitutes their isolation and protec-
tion from the influence of external currents of etherium. 
SYNOPSIS.
33
  Second,  The imperfect manner in which the etherium is
evolved from the  organs of the subject, especially from the
capillaries of minute blood vessels.
  Third, The conformity of the  subject, and the  develop-
ment of the conforming social organs  of the brain, particu-
larly the organ of Credenciveness.

  49. One of the causes of susceptibility may exist in a
subject when the others do not, and some of the numberless
organs in the constitution may be in a susceptible  condition
and others not.   This  enables us to  understand why there
is such a variety among subjects  that scarcely two can be
found who are affected alike.   And when we consider that
the organs are, from various causes, in  a different  condition
at different times, we can perceive why subjects are more
susceptible at one  time than at  another, and why they ex-
hibit different results at different times.

  50. The inducting power of the operator depends upon a
sound and vigorous  body and mind, with a good develop-
ment of  the governing  organs, and good judgment.   Some
have asserted that a full development of the organ of Con-
centrativeness is  necessary; but  although  concentrated
attention is useful, it is not necessary;  and, besides, I deny
that there is any  especial organ  of concentration.  This
notion is exploded.
   It requires no more exertion of the will nor concentrated
attention to induct  a subject, than it does to do any thing
else ; and it is questionable whether it is more  exhausting
than any other labor  in which  continued attention  is re-
quired.
   51.  In  explaining  etherean  or  mesmeric  induction  I
compared the operator and subject to two galvanic batteries,
which, even  though in contact, would not interfere with
each other's operations while perfectly  isolated; but  in fact 
34
SYNOPSIS.
 each man is a compound galvanic battery.  He is composed
 of an immense number of galvanic batteries.  Each organ of
 man is strictly an independent galvanic battery.  This being
 so, each organ must be isolated from the others  to prevent
 interference and confusion in the operations of so many and
 such complicated apparatuses.   The importance  of the
 principle of isolation will now be  appreciated.

   52.  Sometimes one organ of man breaks through the iso-
 lating  barriers,  inducts other organs, and subjects  them
 unduly to its influence.  Monomania  is generally produced
 in this manner, by one phreno-organ being excited to such
 a degree as to overcome  the isolating boundaries and  in-
 ducting and modifying the functions of the other organs in
 an abnormal degree.  Just as one man may induct another,
 so may one  organ  induct another organ in the same man ;
 but in order to do this, it must first overcome the isolation
 by the intensity of its own operations.

  53.  An operator, when he attempts to  induct a subject,
 will, of course, be likely to  induct first those organs  which
 are most  susceptible;  that  is, those  organs that are least
 isolated; and as he proceeds he will  induct others;  but it
 seldom or never happens that he succeeds in inducting all
 the voluntary organs, and he never succeeds in inducting the
 involuntary.

  54.  The involuntary organs are so perfectly isolated as to
be very little affected ; though, in  some extraordinary cases,
the motion of the  heart has been temporarily suspended.
Inmost cases, the circulation "is  accelerated or retarded-
but it is doubtful whether this is  not an indirect  effect, pro-
duced  in consequence  of the induction of the voluntary
organs.

  55. The isolation  being overcome  by the  operator, and
the subject being inducted, the effects produced are various. 
SYNOPSIS.
35
The normal currents are accelerated or retarded; the func-
tions excited to a wonderful degree, producing astonishing and
incredible effects ; or else are depressed, and almost, or even
quite, suspended.   The reason of this difference is, that the
currents of the operator's etherium may unite with those of
the subject, and add to their intensity, power, and energy;
(and if  the currents of the operator are uncommonly vigor-
ous, while those of the subject are weak, the effect of the
induction may be such as to  greatly invigorate the powers
of the subject, and  rouse his nearly dormant energies to a
high degree;) or, on the other hand, the currents of etheri-
um from the operator may oppose the currents in the organs
of the subject, and neutralize  their effects, so as to cause
sleep, paralysis, and insensibility.

  56. There  are certain organs of man which naturally
tend, and were designed, to make  him conform  to others,
and submit to their influence.   As a general fact, the first
effects of induction are upon those conforming social organs,
to accelerate their action, and to cause them to act as auxil-
iaries in inducting the other susceptible organs.   The con-
forming, social propensities, (Submissiveness, Kindness, Imi-
tativeness, and Credenciveness,) perform a part in producing
Etheropathic phenomena, which  has never heretofore been
understood, even  by  phrenologians themselves.  In truth,
they do not  seem to have understood the real nature of these
important organs.
  57. Among the  conforming socials, Credenciveness is the
one which  is most  concerned  and involved in  producing
Etheropathic effects.
  It is because this organ has been so little understood, that
experimenters have made so many  ridiculous errors, while
they asserted and believed that they were making important
discoveries.
  58.   Not only has man certain organs which cause him 
36
SYNOPSIS.
to be influenced by others, but there is a kind of influence,
or stimulus, by which those organs are specifically affected.
Every man has in his possession this stimulating influence,
by means of which to excite  the conforming socials.  The
specific stimulus which naturally influences Credenciveness,
is assertion; and accordingly, when a subject is inducted, an
assertion has an influence upon him which is almost incredi-
ble.   He is generally disposed to oblige, to submit, to imi-
tate, and sympathize ; and to  believe anything, however ab-
surd, even against the evidence of his  senses.   Tell him
that he cannot move or speak, and he cannot; tell him that
ice will burn him, and it will do so.  The assertion will ex-
cite the  organ of  Credenciveness, and that will induct, or
aid in inducting, the other organs.
  These experiments may be performed when  the subject
is inducted in the lowest degree.

  59. The tremulousness and twitchings of subjects, when
first affected by the process of induction, are caused by the
struggles of two opposing currents, one from the organs of
the subject, and the other from the  operator;  just as the
sails of. a ship tremble when the wind changes.

  60.  Sympathy is when  an active organ in the operator
communicates its own motions to the corresponding organ in
the subject, so as to make it act in a similar manner.

  61.  Will, in this  science,  is the voluntary effort of the
operator, which  causes a motion of the etherium, and thus
produces an effect upon the subject.

  62.  Normal, or natural sleep, is caused by the currents of
etherium between the brain and the muscles being stopped
by the involuntary ganglionic influence.

  63.  Dreaming, or partial sleep, is caused  by currents of
etherium passing in the usual way from some of the phre- 
SYNOPSIS.
37
 no-organs to Consciousness, while in others it is prevented
 by sleep.

   64.  Somnambulism, or sleep walking, is the same as dream-
 ing, with this addition—that the etherium which passes to
 Consciousness continues onward to the muscles, (particularly
 those of locomotion,) with force sufficient to cause them to
 contract, and produce walking.   This is often the result of
 disease, and is sometimes, (as in the case of Jane Rider,)
 accompanied with clairvoyance.

   65.  Etheropathic or Mesmeric  Sleep is  caused  by the
 etherium, on its way from external objects to Consciousness,
 being obstructed by the counter currents of  the operator;
 and thus consciousness is prevented, except at the pleasure
 of the operator.

   66.  Paralysis may be partial or general.  It is- caused by
 normal currents  of etherium from Consciousness  to  the
 muscles being diverted  or obstructed.

   67.  Trance is paralysis accompanied with sensation  and
 sometimes with  clairvoyance.  It is  a suspension of the
 powers of voluntary motion, without a suspension of sensa-
 sation.

   68.  Clairvoyance,  or vicarious  sensation,  is  caused by
 currents of etherium forcing their way from external objects
 to  Consciousness,  through  extraordinary  and vicarious
 avenues, in  opposition to the isolating preventives.

  69.  Sympathetic Clairvoyance is a perception by the  sub-
ject of  the state of the operators mind, caused  by motions
 of etherium communicated from  the  Consciousness of the
 operator to the Consciousness of the subject.

  70. TJie Transfer of communication and of power from one
operator to another is  accomplished at the pleasure of the 
38
SYNOPSIS.
first operator, and afterwards, at the pleasure of any other
person who has been put into communication with the sub-
ject.   If the subject is sympathetically clairvoyant, the
transfer can  be made by the mere will of the operator ;  if
not, then it  must be done  by his language, or some sign
which the subject would understand in his ordinary condi-
tion.  In the latter case, the will of the subject aids the
will of the operator, and the conforming organs of the sub-
ject act as auxiliaries to the will of the operator.

  71. Induction is the  communication of motion or influ-
ence from one thing to another by means of etherium.

  72.  Self-induction is  the induction of organs which  is
produced by other  organs  in the  same  individual.   It  is
when one organ inducts another in the  self-same person.
This happens spontaneously in many cases of monomania,
but it is easily produced artificially, thus;—let the operator,
by will, overcome the isolation, and then, by assertion, excite
Credenciveness to an abnormal degree, and Credenciveness
will induct  any part which the operator pleases,  or  even
any part which the subject believes or  suspects that the
operator desires to induct.   This principle of self-induction
has never before, to my  knowledge, been announced.

  73. Most of the  pretended wonderful discoveries, pub-
lished under the names of neurology, phreno-mesmerism
and pathetism, have originated  in the  ignorance of the
operators concerning this important  principle of self-induc-
tion,  or rather of Credencive induction  ; and while  they
have supposed that the fingers of the operators  communi-
cated excitement to the  phreno-organs, it was in reality the
organ of Credenciveness in  the subject himself which com-
municated the excitement to the other phreno-organs of his
own brain, and thus  produced  any effect,  however  ludi-
crous, which the honest but misguided operator  expected,
and supposed to proceed from his fingers. 
SECTION  II.
HISTORY OF  ETHERIUM.
  It is extremely curious as well as instructive, to trace the
history and progress of the human mind in relation to ethe-
rium and its various effects and manifestations.  The exist-
ence of light and heat, and their obvious emanation from
the sun and  other bodies, naturally  led philosophers to
inquire into their nature and laws ; but nothing definite was
discovered, more than every savage would naturally know
without investigation, until the inductive  sciences  com-
menced their triumphant career in the 16th century.  Be-
fore this time  the very existence of electricity, magnetism
and galvanism, was unknown.  It is true that the fact of
the attraction of certain kinds  of iron ore for small particles
of iron had been  noticed.   It had also been discovered that
a needle possessing the magnetic property, when left free
to move, pointed north and south; but this  did not neces-
sarily lead to the conclusion that  an etherean fluid was
concerned in producing the phenomenon.  " Thales, one of
the wisest of the  ancient Greek sages, believed that the
loadstone had a  soul, because it had  the power to  move
itself and other things."   It is found, upon a careful reading
of ancient history,  that most of the phenomena of etherium
which were observed, were ascribed to the agency of gods
 and  demons; thunder was the voice of Jupiter, and the
 dread lightning was his resistless bolt; the aurora boreahs
 was  construed into a terrible  manifestation of the wrath  of 
40         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
an  offended deity;  sometimes it was  said to be a sword of
the color of blood, suspended  over a doomed nation ; and,
again, it assumed to their terrified  imaginations the form of
a destroying angel, threatening the earth with famine, pes-
tilence and sword.
  The celebrated delphian oracle,  doubtless, had its  origin
in some circumstances connected with Etheropathy or mes-
merism ; for we are informed by historians  that certain
females having drank from a spring, the water of which had
peculiar properties, they were immediately possessed with
a kind of hallucination, during which they manifested won-
derful powers  of prophesy  and  gifts  of far-sightedness.
The numbers that  consulted  them were  so great that a
temple  was  built which became  the object  of universal
sensation ;  kings and generals were guided by its counsels,
and the fates of distant nations  were  decided  within its
sacred portals.  To one familiarly  acquainted with the  ex-
periment in Etheropathy, there can be no doubt that as far
as the principals of this far-famed temple possessed any ex-
traordinary knowledge or power, they were dependant upon
the same principle that is concerned in the modern experi-
ments in clairvoyance.   It is questionable whether they
understood the nature of the  agent which they employed.
The managers of the  institution were, perhaps, themselves
sincere in the belief that they were aided by a supernatural
power,  especially during the  earliest and  most successful
period of their authority.   It is certain  that the multitude
ascribed their knowledge to celestial  inspiration, and paid
their homage and tribute to the shrine with profound adora-
tion.  In every age and  nation we can  trace evidences of
the unknown power of etherium.  Witchcraft and sorcery
and  divination were  undoubtedly different modi  operandi
of this  agent.  We  read in  Genesis of the divining  cup
being put into the sack of Benjamin.   I do not know that
we  have any precise information as to the manner in which 
           HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.        41

this cup was used by the  Egyptians; but if we may be
allowed to conjecture from the other practices of the Magi
of that land of mystery and magic, it is  easy to refer it to
etherean principles.   Their  power of charming  and sub-
duing serpents, and of deluding the senses of  spectators, as
in the case recorded  in Exodus  of their turning rods into
serpents, can only be explained in this manner : and  though
the superior power of Aaron in causing his rod to swallow
up all their rods, may be ascribed to miraculous aid, it can-
not be pretended that the power of the  magicians was  de-
rived from Divine assistance, when they were acting in op-
position to Aaron upon the same occasion.
  Witchcraft can easily be explained upon the principles of
Etheropathy ; and all the effects produced by the witches
of ancient or  modern  times can be reproduced,  on  any
occasion, by an accomplished experimenter upon etherium.
The history of king Saul renders it probable that  he  was
highly susceptible to the etherean influence.  The prophets
whom he met in one of his  journeys,  by means of music
and dancing, and by other means not mentioned, succeeded
in operating upon him so far  as to make him beside him-
 self; and the influence of David's harp,  in driving away the
 evil spirit that troubled him, was  of the same character.
 Who that compares the ancient  seers with modern clairvoy-
 ants, and possessors of second-sight, can doubt that  they all
 belong to the same class.
   The practice of laying hands  upon the sick to heal them,
 referred to in the New Testament, is precisely the ethero-
 pathic practice.
   The practice among some of the American Indians, when
 the medicine man, or physician, performs certain  fantastic
 tricks  and evolutions, to operate upon the  imagination of
 the patient, and then takes  the  medicine himself, and  actu-
 ally produces the  same effect upon the patient as though
 the  patient  himself  took  the  medicina,  may seem in-
                  3 
42
IHSTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
 credible; but in some cases the same thing can be done by
 ethereans, or mesmerizers ; and the same principle is  in-
 deed often brought into operation in their ordinary sympa-
 thetic experiments.  The practice of laying a piece of steel
 under the pillow to prevent nightmare, though often treated
 with contempt, is but an instance of etherean practice, by
 those who  are ignorant of the  agency employed.   It is
 highly probable that the practice of finding springs of water
 by the witch-hazel, which, though much ridiculed, is not-
 withstanding very generally practiced, and believed in by
 some intelligent men, may, in some instances, be success-
 ful, in consequence of an etherean influence, the existence
 of which has not been heretofore suspected.
  Etherium, under various forms and  in  various modes,
 has doubtless, in all times, excited the astonishment of men,
 by producing  phenomena which (though by  the lights of
 modern science easily explained, by being referred to elec-
 tricity, magnetism and mesmerism,) were once  utterly  in-
 explicable and mysterious.  It is by no means surprising
 that men ascribed them to supernatural agency ;  nor is it
 strange, that those rnen who had acquired some knowledge
 of the arts and practices by which the phenomena could be
 produced, were regarded with veneration, and were sup-
 posed to be endowed  with celestial wisdom, and favored
 with especial aid from the dread powers  of  the  invisible
 world.  It was quite natural for the Roman soldiers, when
 they saw electric fire upon the points of their spears, during
 a thunder-storm, to believe  that the gods were giving them
 the most unequivocal tokens of their approbation and de-
 termination to assist them.  If, in those times,  a man be-
came acquainted with the method by which similar electric
phenomena could be at any time produced,  he  could easily
make this knowledge a means of establishing his authority
and influence as a favorite  of the  gods, who  could, at his
pleasure, " call spirits from the vasty deep." 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.         43
  I have no doubt that, in most cases, the priests and  pro-
phets and  seers and  soothsayers of ancient times,  were
themselves under  a delusion, and actually believed them-
selves to possess the power which was ascribed to them by
the multitude ; though, from the  promptings  of natural de-
pravity, they may have  added some  impostures, to enable
them to render their profession more influential, as well  as
more lucrative.  If we  admit that some of the  ancient priests
understood the art of  clairvoyance and mesmerism, though
much adulterated by superstition, we can readily understand
the immense effect upon their own  minds which it would
produce, in swelling  their self-importance,  and  inspiring
them with a high notion of the dignity, sacredness and ex-
clusiveness of their profession.  We can also conceive that
the apparent miracles which they could perform  by its
means, would give them unbounded sway over the minds
of the ignorant masses.
  The effects produced  in our  own day, by the exciting
modes  of religious worship,  adopted by  some sects, and
which are undoubtedly believed by them to be the work of
the Holy Ghost, can easily be  imitated, and the  same effects
produced by ethereans upon  persons who are notoriously
irreligious.   I refer to the merely corporeal effects, such  as
" falling down in a trance," " losing  their strength," " be-
coming insensible and  rigid,"  &c.  How far the effects upon
their minds can be supposed to be due to the same cause,  or
how far it is the work of God, it is not becoming in  me  to
decide ;  but I  would respectfully  suggest, that  we  may
often and easily be led  into  the most egregious errors, by
overlooking  those  laws of the  human mind, through the
operation of which one person may be  subjected to the
etherean influence of others.
  The Science of Etherology is  the  legitimate offspring of
modern discoveries.  Before the time of Galileo it was sup-
posed that the atmosphere of  the earth was unlimited in ex- 
44        HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.

tent, and the fact of the pressure of the atmosphere was un-
known.  Before the discoveries of  Priestly, Lavoisier and
Dr. Black, the compound nature of atmospheric air was not
suspected;  and the true  theory of combustion and various
other phenomena produced by the combinations of oxygen,
were wrapped in  profound mystery.   Before the experi-
ments of Gray and Wheeler, the electric fluid was unknown ;
and when its existence was proved, it remained for Franklin
to show that it produces lightning ; for Davy, Oersted, Am-
pere, Seebeck, Faraday and others, to prove that it produces
chemical attraction and decomposition, Terrestrial Magnet-
ism, Galvanism, Voltaism and the Aurora Borealis.
   The effects of galvanism upon the dead body could not
previously have been known, nor could we previously have
had satisfactory analogies, by which to explain the possibility
that the organic functions depend upon the same principle
as the  electric and  magnetic phenomena.  In addition to
those  already mentioned, the  experiments  and discoveries
of Mesmer and Peseygur, of Gall and Spurzheim,of Cuvier,
Bell, Marshall Hall, Reil,  Humbolt,  Ehrenburg, Young,
Arago and many others,  have combined to  shed  light upon
this subject, as far as it relates to the nature of man and
animals, and all have tended to lead modern scientific minds
to the opinion that there is a subtile, all pervading and uni-
versal fluid, or etherium, which is concerned in producing
all  phenomena;  in  moving and connecting all  material
bodies, from the vast planets, seen  through the telescope,
to the most minute infusoria that can be perceived by the
microscope.
   The ancient poets and philosophers frequently spoke of
the ether,  but they evidently referred to the atmosphere,
which, before  the  sixteenth century, was supposed  to be
illimitable ; or, if by ether they meant anything else, it was
 certainly nothing analogous to the etherium which produces
light, magnetism,  &c.  This is evident, from the fact, that 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.          45
they called it the blue ether, and supposed that it produced
the  blue  color of the sky.   We must remember also, that
they were utterly ignorant of electricity and  galvanism, of

chemistry, and  of  the  laws  of  gravitation;  their  ideas,
therefore, concerning the nature of etherium were  neces-

sarily  vague  and superstitious.
   Van Helmont, a  German  philosopher, born  in 1577,* was

  *  The following extract is from the History of Mesmerism in  the
Mesmeric Magazine.
  " Among the Oriental Asiatics, mesmerism seems never  to have
been totally forgotten, and even yet there lingers among them a faint
and dubious perception of its existence and use.
  " The Jesuit missionaries relate that in the empire of China, mes-
merism has been  practiced for many  centuries,  but  they  communi-
cate no particulars of the mode or of the extent of its  employment.
  " 11 is a fact, long and well known in India,that many of the fanatic devo-
tees with whom that country abounds, are accustomed to obtain what
they consider an ecstatic communion with the Deity, by fixing them-
selves  in a particular position, and steadfastly gazing at the end of the
nose.  They assert  that if they persevere for a  considerable time in
this singular practice, they will suddenly perceive a beatific light, and
be  favored with direct  and colloquial intercourse with God, though
their conversation is tacit and inaudible to any but themselves. Mes-
merisees, when clairvoyant, almost  invariably mention a bright light,
which they perceive before their foreheads,  just above the eyebrows:
and a  very singular discovery made  in the  year 1841 by a surgeon
named Braid,  of Manchester, England, affords convincing proof of the
possibility of somnambulism  being voluntarily induced, even in the
manner of the  Hindoo fakirs.
   " This man  found that by making a person in  a sitting posture gaze
steadfastly upon an object  situated at an angle  of forty-five  degrees
above  the common axis of vision, congestion of the nerves and vessels
of  the eye was produced, which extended to the brain and threw the
subject into the mesmeric condition, so far at least that total  insensi-
bility to external impressions was induced.  We have repeatedly tried
this experiment with  perfect success, but could  never cause clairvoy-
ance in this manner, except in our habitual  mesmerisees.
   " In Europe, however, after the overthrow of the Western Empire,
we perceive but few traces of mesmerism, until  the dawn of the  new
civilization in the fifteenth and sixteenth  centuries.  Two  or three
remai kable cases seem  nevertheless to have occurred during the dark
ages, some of which fell under the observation of the learned and
pious  St. Augustine,  who in  his ' City of God'  mentions  a man  who
could  perspire when  he wished, and also a priest who, whenever he
 pleased, could throw  himself into a  peculiar kind of trance, during
which he was as insensible as a corpse.                          .
   "Thefamous Arabian philosopher and physician, Ebn-Sina or Avi 
46
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
the first  to advance distinctly the ideas, and  introduce the
practice, the discovery of which has since been attributed
to Mesmer.    He  taught  that there is a universal  fluid
cenna, who lived in the tenth and eleventh centuries, relates the case
of a man who could at pleasure, by an exertion of his will, paralyze
his whole frame, or throw it into what we should now term a mes-
meric condition.
  " Jerome Cardan, of the sixteenth century, a man of genius and dis-
crimination, and one of the first scholars of his day, states of himself
that he possessed a capacity of abandoning his body in a sort of ecstacy
whenever he pleased.  He felt in these cases a sort of splitting of the
heart, as if  his soul was about to withdraw, the sensation spreading
over his whole frame, like the opening of a door for the dismissal of
its guest.  His  apprehension was that he was out of his body, and
that by an energetic exertion he still retained a small hold of his cor-
poreal figure.  He also  could  see, when he pleased, whatever  he
desired to see, not through the ibrce of imagination, but with his
material organs: he  saw  groves, animals  and  orbs, as  he willed.
When  he was a child he saw these things as they  occurred, without
any previous volition or  anticipation  that such  a thing was about to
happen.   But after he had  arrived at  years  of maturity he saw them
only when he desired, and  such things as he desired.  These images
were in perpetual succession one after  another.
  " It is, however, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, that we
find the  existence of mesmerism  first acknowledged and distinctly
announced.   Many writers, the most eminent of whom were  Kircher,
Pomponatius, Van Helmont, and  Sir Kenelm  Digby, assumed  the
existence of an universal magnetic power, by which they attempted to
explain the dependence  and reciprocal action of bodies, in  general,
upon each other, and, in  particular, the phenomena of the  vital or-
ganization.   They also broadly and distinctly maintained the propo-
sition that the will or imagination of  man, when energetically called
into action, is capable of producing certain  perceptible  effects upon
the organism of other living beings, even at a considerable distance.
  "Pomponatius, a native of Mantua, and professor of Philosophy at the
celebrated university of Padua, assumes it as a fact generally  acknow-
ledged, that there are men endowed with the faculty of curing certain
diseases, by means of an effluence or emanation, which the force  of
their imagination directs towards the patient.  ' When those,' says he
' who are endowed with  this faculty,'operate by employing  the force
of the imagination and the will, this force affects their blood and their
spirits, which produce the intended effects by means of an evaporation
thrown outwards.'  He  afterwards observes, that it  is  by no  means
inconceivable, that health may be  communicated to a sick person, by
the force of the imagination and the will so directed; and he comparts
this susceptibility of health to the opposite susceptibility of the infec-
tion of disease.
   " In another passage, he enumerates the conditions of the exercise of
this faculty, in nearly the same terms  as are  employed by the modern 
             HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.          47

which pervades all  bodies, and by means of which certain
effects can be produced by  the will of one person upon the
mesmerisers ; and he adds, that the confidence of the patient  contri-
butes to the efficacy of the remedy.  ' It  is necessary,' says he, ' that
he who exercises this sort of enchantment should have great  faith, a
strong imagination, and a firm desire to cure the sickness.  But these
dispositions are not to be found equally in all men.'
  " Henry Cornelius Agrippa,  the famous  astrologer, chemist, and
magician, asserted  that it is possible for  a man to communicate his
thoughts to another, even at a great distance, and appeals to his own
experience, as well as to that of others, for the truth of the fact.
  " But there is no author of that age,—observes Colquhoun, in treating
of this  subject, who appears to have so fully anticipated the modern
discovery of mesmerism, as Van Helmont.
  " He defines mesmerism,  or as he styles it, magnetism, to be * that
occult  influence, which bodies exert over each  other at a distance,
whether by attraction or  by impulsion.'   The medium or vehicle of
this influence, he designates  by the  name of the magnate magnum,
which  he seems to consider  as an universal fluid pervading all  nature.
It is not, he continues, a corporeal  substance, capable of being con-
densed, measured,  or weighed ;  but an ethereal, pure, vital spirit, or
essence, which penetrates all bodies, and acts upon  the mass of the
universe.  With regard to  the human frame, he conceives that  the
seat of the magnetic force is in the blood, and that it is called forth
and directed by the will.   Van Helmont occasionally gives  to this
influence the epithets of ecstatic and magical, using the latter word in
its more favorable signification.
  " In the same treatise, the author proceeds to say that there resides in
man a  peculiar energy, which enables him  by the mere force of his
will and imagination to act at  a distance, and to impress a virtue, to
exercise an influence upon  a very remote object.  This  power, he
admits, is incomprehensible; but  there are other powers and agents
in nature, which we are equally incapable of comprehending—such as
the power of volition over  the  corporeal organs.  The union  of the
soul and the body, too, and their reciprocal influence upon each other,
depend upon causes which we are  unable to discover.
  " But one of the most remarkable passages in this treatise is that in
which the author explains  the conditions necessary to the success of
the magnetic,  treatment.    ' We  have already observed,'  says  he,
' that all magical  power lies dormant in man, and that it requires to
be excited.  This is invariably the case, if the subject upon whom we
wish to operate, is not in  the most favorable disposition ; if his inter-
nal imagination does not abandon  itself entirely to the impression
which we wish to  produce upon him ; or if he  towards  whom the
action  is directed,  possesses  more energy than he who operates.   But
when the patient is well disposed, or weak, he readily yields to the
magnetic influence of him who operates upon him through the medium
of his imagination.  In order to operate powerfully, it is necessary to
employ some  medium; but this  medium is nothing unless  accom-
panied by the internal  action.'   All this—at least  in  its essential 
48         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
 organization  and mind of another; but he combined  this

 doctrine Avith others  relating to magic, alchemy and astro-


 points—is quite coincident with the modern doctrine of animal mag-
 netism, introduced by Mesmer, and established  by the numerous ex-
 periments and observations of his successors.
   " Van Helmont, and indeed most of the early writers on the subject
 of magnetism, ascribed a vast  and  mysterious influence to the power of
 energetic and concentrated volition.
   " The will, according to Van Helmont, is the first of powers. It was
 by the will of the Almighty that  the universe was created ; it was by
 volition  that motion was originally impressed upon all objects;  it is
 the will existing in man, which  is the principle  of all  his actions.
 Volition belongs  to all  spiritual beings; it is the more active and
 powerful in  them, in proportion as they are disengaged from matter;
 and the energy  with  which it  operates without  the  assistance  of
 organs, is the essential characteristic of pure spirits.  He also remarks
 that those who  exert the magnetic  influence, operate more or less
 powerfully, according to the energy of the will; and  that the effects
 of their operation may be impeded by the resistance of that which is
 operated upon.  A magnetiser will operate with much more certainty
 upon weak than upon robust  beings; because the power of operating
 effectually by means of volition has its limits, and he who possesses
 energy of mind can easily resist it.
   " It is quite evident, indeed, from the whole works of Van Helmont
 that he was not only perfectly well acquainted with the magnetic in-
 fluence, but that he made use of it professionally, and  placed great
 confidence in its effects.   He himself,  indeed,  informs us, that when
 the plague was raging in the  town of Brussels, he thought it his duty
 to seize the opportunity of instructing himself and of being useful to
 others.   He accordingly offered his services to attend the sick ; neither
 the  fatigue, nor the fear of infection, could abate  his zeal, or extin-
 guish his charity.  «Perceiving,' says he,  ' that  most of the  physi-
 cians deserted the sick, I devoted myself to their service, and God
 preserved me from the contagion.   All, when they saw me, seemed to
 be refreshed with hope and joy; whilst I, supported by faith and con-
 fidence, persuaded myself that God would  at length confer upon me
 the science of an adept.'                                   r
   "There appeared in  England, about the middle of the seventeenth
 century, three persons who seem  to have possessed considerable mes-
 meric power which they employed, however, only for the cure of
 diseases.   These were a gardener  named Levret, an Irish gentleman
 ItZ IT <*"»trakes and a Dr. Streper.  Their method of cure wag

 bSStZJStSSS0^ ^ ^^ SUCCCSS  WaS —derful,and
  " In the course of the next centurv, there anneal i„ ra__
•till more extraordinary character than eHhe Tttethr.tXper'


priest.  HU  curative W^^^'l^S^^
mod,c and .pilept.c complamt,, and were authenticatedTin the lS 
HISTORY  OF ETHERIUM.        49
logy, which had the effect  to bring both himself and his
opinions, on this subject, into discredit with philosophers.
  The following brief glance at the history of mesmerism,
is principally derived from the recent work of Lang.
  About the middle of the  seventeenth century, there ap-
peared in England a certain gardener of the name of Levret,
an Irish gentleman, Valentine Greatrakes, and a Dr. Streper,
who professed to cure various diseases by  stroking with the
hand.   The cures performed in this manner by Greatrakes
are authenticated by the Lord Bishop of  Derry, and many
other highly respectable individuals.  The Royal  Society
accounted for them by the supposition, that there existed a
" sanative  contagion in  Mr. Greatrakes' body, which  had
an antipathy to some particular diseases, and not to others."
At  a still later period,  Gassner, a  Catholic  minister, a
native of Suabia, having taken up a notion that many dis-
eases arose from demoniacal possession, and could be cured
by  exorcism, performed  a  number of astonishing cures,
especially  among  patients  affected with spasmodic  and
epileptic complaints.  Many other instances of a like cha-
racter might  be adduced, exhibiting traces of this  curious
agency  ;  but  we come,  without  farther   preface, to  the
individual who, in  modern  times, was the reviver of the
science to which his  name has been given.
   Frederick Anthony Mesmer was born in Switzerland, on
the 23d day of May, 1734.   He studied  medicine at Vienna,
where  he obtained  the degree of doctor, and settled  as a
physician.  A marriage with a lady of fortune  soon after-
wards raised him above some of  the cares which  attach to
the young medical practitioner.
ample and irrefragable manner, by persons of high rank and irre-
proachable character.
  " But it was reserved for Mesmer, one of the most remarkable men on
record, to deduce and form from  these  scattered  facts and instances,
and from his own  personal experience, the rudiments of that mighty
and marvellous science which now bears his name, and will perpetuate
his remembrance to the latest ages."
             3* 
50        HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
  From an early age, Mesmer  is said to  have manifested
a love of the  marvellous;  and,  in the year 1776, he pub-
lished a dissertation, On the Influence of the Planets upon
the Human Body.  He assumed, that the influence operated
by electricity;  but finding that agent inadequate to the
solution of all the phenomena,  he afterwards abandoned it
for magnetism.  In 1773, upon the suggestion of Maximilian
Hell, professor of astronomy at Vienna, he resorted to the
use of the magnet, which he applied in the cure of various
diseases.  Ultimately he discovered that the magnetic rods
employed by him were powerless, and  that the healing
power, whatever it might be, was resident in himself. The
rods were accordingly  abandoned,  the  effects  being pro-
duced by  certain passes.
  Mesmer now began to assume a mysterious demeanor;
and, in no small degree  through his own folly, so great a
prejudice  was created against him, that in 1777 he departed
from Vienna, and early in the following year  made his ap-
pearance  in  Paris.  There, besides making  a  convert  of
Dr. D'Eslon, he performed many remarkable cures in the
class of  distinguished persons, and his fame accordingly
spread with great rapidity throughout the gay circles of that
city.  The members of the medical profession, however, set
themselves in resolute opposition to Mesmer, and for a time
he retired to Spa, but afterwards, upon the  persuasion of his
friends, returned to Paris.
  A negotiation was attempted for the purchase of Mesmer's
secret by the French Government; but this having failed,
the sale was carried on to private individuals at the rate of
one hundred louis a head.   It was a condition of each sale
that  secrecy  should be  maintained; but this was broken
through,  and the  knowledge of  the  facts propagated by
Mesmer was soon widely diffused, with the disadvantage of
having many corruptions grafted upon them according  to
the fancies of various individuals.  The practice of Mesmer 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
51
savored  in itself sufficiently of quackery, and some of his
disciples seem to have followed it up in a still more foolish
manner.
   In 1784, the French Government issued a royal mandate
to the medical faculty of Paris, requiring  them to investi-
gate the facts and the pretensions of the new doctrine. The
bulk of the members of this famous commission had pre-
judged the question, and, like too many of the medical men
of our own time, were  resolved that they would not be con-
vinced.   The name of the celebrated  Franklin is attached
to  the  unfavorable  Report  that was issued, although  it
should not have been there, as he is said to have been indis-
posed at the time, and to have given little attention to what
took place.
   There was one commissioner who refused to  concur  in
the Report adopted  by his brethren.   Jussieu, a physician
of the highest eminence, who devoted great attention  to
the investigation, published a special report of his own, pre-
senting  an entirely different view, and conveying an infi-
nitely more favorable impression of the subject.
   The blow  struck by the French Commissioners did not
entirely answer the  expected purpose.  The question still
continued to  excite a high degree of interest in  that coun-
try, but the breaking out of the Revolution, and the wars
which followed that event, turned the public attention  in
other directions.
   The Marquis de  Puysegur, one of the most intelligent  of
Mesmer's  disciples, to whom the science is under deep ob-
ligations, was the first to describe  the state of somnambu-
lism.*   The Marquis, both  at Paris and on his estate in the
country, devoted himself with the utmost zeal  to the pro-
pagation of the science ; and  the system, as improved  by
him, was introduced into  Germany in 1787, through the  in-

    * I believe that he was the first who discovered clairvoyance. 
52        HISTORY  OF ETHERIUM.
 strumentality  of the celebrated  physiognomist  Lavater.
 Journals devoted to animal magnetism were established in
 France and Germany ; and in those countries, as well as in
 Switzerland, the magnetic treatment has prevailed, more or
 less, for the last fifty years.
   Meanwhile, Mesmer  had retired  to  his native country,
 Switzerland, and his death took place on the 5th of March,
 1815, at Meersburg, on the Lake of Constance.   His last
 years were devoted to the practice  of  the  magnetic treat-
 ment or the benefit of the poor, and he exhibited his own
 belief in its efficacy as a remedy, by submitting to the treat-
 ment in his last  illness, and is said to have experienced
 from it  great relief.
   Many men of the highest eminence on  the Continent of
 Europe, despite the din  of war around them, devoted a con-
 siderable degree of attention to  Mesmerism, and in progress
 of time  it began to be heard of in  the  works of the great
 German physiologists,  Sprengel,  Reil, Authenrieth  and
 others—names as well known on the Continent  as  those of
 Harvey or Hunter in Britain. In 1817, the  practice of Mes-
 merism  was by law ordered to be confined to the  medical
 profession in the Prussian dominions; and in 1818 the Aca-
 demy of Sciences  at Berlin offered  a prize of 3340 francs
 for the best treatise on Mesmerism.  In  Denmark, and even
 in Russia, about the same period, the subject was  brought
 under investigation, and  in the  latter country a committee,
 appointed by the Emperor, declared it to be a most import-
 ant agent.  These things could not go on without challeng-
 ing investigation in France, from whence the first  report of
 a commission had emanated.
  In 1825, M. Foissac proposed to the  Academie de Medi-
 cine, to  produce a somnambulist, in whom  the  members of
that  body  might  witness  the extraordinary phenomena
 caused by animal magnetism.   The proposition gave rise to
 violent debates, which terminated in the appointment of a 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.        53
committee, to determine as to whether the Academie ought
or ought not to take cognizance in the subject.   The  com-
mittee  decided  in  the  affirmative, upon  the  following
grounds:   First,  that  the  judgment  pronounced  by the
Academie in 1784, was not founded upon reasons sufficient-
ly conclusive ; and secondly, that the  magnetism now pro-
posed for examination, differed from the Mesmerian  mag-
netism, inasmuch  as its  effects  were producible without
actual contact between the  magnetiser and the  magnetised,
and  without the  employment of metallic  rods, magnetic
chairs, and other similar means.  After strong opposition, a
commission was appointed, composed of twelve members,
to examine into and report upon the  experiments about to
be made.   The commission  pursued its investigations  till
1831, when it presented a report to the Academie, contain-
ing an exposition of its labors, with the inferences deduced
from them, arranged under the following heads :
   1.  The effects ascribed to magnetism  are null in most
healthy individuals, and in some invalids.
   2.  They are but little apparent in others.
   3.  They are often produced by ennui, monotony, and the
power of the imagination.
   4.  Lastly, they are developed independently of  these
causes, very probably by the influence of magnetism alone.
   The somnambulist proposed to be presented to the Acade-
mie by M. Foissac, who, he stated, would remove all doubt
as to the  power of magnetism, was the first  person sub-
jected to its operation before the commission.   It appears,
however, that the  experiment was  a failure, for the com-
missioners  say,  in the report—

   " We must confess, our inexperience, our impatience,  our mis-
trust,  perhaps too strongly manifested, did not permit us to observe
any of the phenomena of somnambulism."

   It is unnecessary that I should follow  the report in the 
54         HISTORY  OF ETHERIUM.
enumeration of instances illustrative of the two first heads.
The following cases will serve to illustrate the third  posi-
tion ; it being sufficient to place the persons in situations in
which they  believed themselves magnetised, to  produce
similar phenomena :*

  " Mad'lle. L. was magnetised eleven times  at the Hotel  Dieu,
within the period of a month.  At the fourth sitting, somnolency,
convulsive movements of the neck and face, with other symptoms,
occurred.  At the eleventh sitting, the magnetiser  placed himself
behind her chair, without making any signs,  and without the in-
tention of magnetising; nevertheless, she experienced more decided
effects than on the preceding trials.
   " An hysterical girl was magnetised several times; at each time
there occurred somnolency with strong convulsive actions.  Being
placed one day in the same chair, in the  same place, at the same
hour, and in the presence of the same persons, the accustomed phe-
nomena presented themselves, though the magnetiser was absent."

   A like experiment was  made on an epileptic patient with
a similar result.
   The following is  an abstract of some of the cases, from
which the commissioners inferred, that the phenomena was
produced by the action of magnetism alone :
   A child aged twenty-eight months, subject to  epileptic
attacks, was magnetised  by M.  Foissac.   Almost immedi-
ately after the beginning of the  passes, it rubbed  its eyes,
leaned its head upon one of the cushions, yawned, was agi-
tated, scratched its  head and  ears, and  seemed to struggle
against the tendency to sleep.
   A deaf and dumb boy, aged eighteen years, subject to epi-
leptic attacks from  a long period, was  magnetised fifteen
times;  the epileptic attacks were suspended, and  only re-
turned after an interval of eight months, which was unpre-
cedented in the history of his disease; he  experienced  be-
* See my remarks on Credencive Induction. 
           HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.        55

sides, during the experiments, heaviness  of the  eye-lids,
general torpor, the inclination to sleep, and sometimes ver-
tigo.
  M. Itard, one  of the members of the commission,  who
had previously been magnetised without any effect resulting,
again subjected himself to  the experiment,, after nearly a
year's interval, and experienced languor without sleep, a
marked excitation of the nerves  of the  face, convulsive
movements in the nose, the muscles of the face and jaws,
an accumulation in the mouth of saliva, having a metallic
taste—a sensation similar to that which he had experienced
from galvanism.  This phenomenon recurred on subsequent
occasions,  when he was magnetised ;  the two first  sittings
produced headache, which lasted several hours, at the same
time his habitual pains had diminished.
   After  stating some instances of insensibility, during som-
nambulism, to noises, pinching, pricking, ammonia  applied
to the nose, &c, the commissioners relate two or three cases
where the somnambulists failed to execute the orders trans-
mitted to them mentally by the magnetiser, of which I shall
merely quote one.
   In Madame C, residing in the  same house as the  mag-
netiser,  it  was proposed to exhibit the mental power pos-
 sessed by  the magnetiser over the  magnetised ; as also  the
 communication  of thoughts between them, without  the  in-
 tervention of speech or gesture.  The proposal was accept-
 ed by the  commissioners,  who repaired to  the house,  and
 when the  somnambulist was produced, gave directions in
 writing  to the magnetiser,  indicating the actions which they
 desired  to see performed, which were to  be  signified men-
 tally to the somnambulist.   Thus she is first ordered to go
 and sit on a stool before the piano ; she rises and looks at
 the clock  ; on being apprised of her mistake, she goes  into
 another room, and on being again informed of her error she
 sits down.  She is next desired  to raise her hand at  the 
56        HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
same time as her magnetiser, and to lower  it at the same
time ; the two hands  are raised simultaneously, but that
of Madame C. is not raised at the  same time as  the mag-
netiser's.  The back of a  watch is presented to her ; she
mistakes the hour and the number of hands ; she is told  to
rub her  forehead, but she  merely extends her hands.
  The result of this and one or two other  cases, rendered
the commissioners somewhat suspicious of a previous under-
standing between  the  magnetisers and the somnambulists.
M. Dupotet offered to remove their  doubts, and engaged
to produce at will, and out of the  sphere of the sight of
those whom he would  throw into somnambulism, convulsive
movements in any part of their body,  by the mere action of
pointing towards the part  which the commissioners  should
indicate.  A man who had already been magnetised  several
times, was consequently  thrown into somnambulism, and
after some trials upon  his  obedience, M. Dupotet announced
that the commissioners might  produce the promised  effects.
M. Marc, one of them, accordingly placed himself behind
the somnambulist, and made  a sign  to M. Dupotet,  to pro-
duce movements in the forefinger of the right hand,  and af-
terwards in the  toes; the somnambulist performed some
movements, but not in the parts indicated.  Similar move-
ments,  though more feeble, were subsequently  made with-
out magnetization, and the experiment was declared  to  be
inconclusive.
  Mademoiselle Lemaitre, who has been already mentioned,
when it  was a question of the imagination in the production
of magnetic phenomena, also presented this convulsive mo-
bility, but these movements, resembling in their rapidity
those which are felt on the approach of an electrical point
sometimes  took place  in a part to which the fingers were
pointed, and  sometimes also  without the  pointing  of the
fingers.  They also occurred  at a longer or shorter  period
after the attempt which was made to produce them • some- 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.         57
times this phenomenon was exhibited at one sitting, and did
not appear at all in another ;  the approach of the fingers to
one  part was likewise sometimes followed by  convulsive
movements in a different part.
   It was chiefly upon M.  Petit, a teacher, aged thirty-two,
that the convulsive movements have  been determined with
the  greatest  degree of precision,  by the approach of  the
magnetiser's fingers.

   " M. Dupotet, presented him to the commissioners, the 10th of
August, 1826, stating to them that the man was very susceptible
to somnambulic phenomena, and that while in this state, he, M. Du-
 potet, could at his pleasure, and without  expressing it by word,
 produce in the parts indicated by the commissioners,  evident con-
vulsive movements, by  the mere approach of his fingers to the
 parts.  He was quickly somnambulised, and it was then that the
 commissioners, to obviate any suspicion of a concerted plan, placed
 in the hands of M.  Dupotet, a note composed in silence, and at the
 moment in which they had stated, in writing, the parts which  they
 wished to see convulsed.
   " Following these instructions, he first directed his hand towards
 the right wrist, which became affected with convulsions : he after-
 wards placed himself behind the patient, and directed his finger in
 the first instance towards the left thigh, then towards the left elbow,
 and then to the head.  These three parts were almost immediately
 seized with convulsive movements.   M. Dupotet next directed his
 left leg towards that of the patient, who became agitated in such a
 manner as to be near falling; M.  Dupotet then brought his foot
 near the right elbow of  M. Petit, and the elbow became agitated ;
 he then carried his foot towards the left elbow and hand, and very
 strong convulsive actions took  place in the whole limb.  One of
 the commissioners, M. Marc, with the intention of obviating the
 slightest possibility of trickery, placed a bandage over the patient's
 eyes, and the preceding experiments were repeated, with but slight
 difference in the result.  Upon  the combined and instantaneous in-
 dication of several of  us, M. Dupotet directed his finger towards
 the patient's left hand ; on  its approach both hands were agitated.
 We desired that the action should be directed at the  same time to 
58         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
both the inferior extremities; at first the fingers were approached
without any results; soon, however, the somnambulist moved his
hands, retreated, and then agitated  his feet.  MM. Thillaye and
Marc  directed their fingers towards various parts of the body, and
provoked some convulsive movements. Thus M. Petit always had,
on the approach of the fingers, convulsive movements, whether his
eyes were bandaged or not, and these movements were more de-
cided when a metallic rod, such as a key, or the branches of spec-
tacles, was directed towards the parts. In conclusion, the commis-
sion, although witnesses of several cases in. which this contractile
faculty has been excited by the approach of the fingers, or of me-
tallic rods, require further facts, in order to appreciate the phenom-
enon, of the constancy and value of  which they do not consider
themselves sufficiently enlightened to pronounce an opinion."

   M.  Petit likewise  presented  the phenomena of clairvoy-
ance, or sight with the closed eyelids,  though he was wrong
in  some of his  statements.   Thus,  M. Dupotet  had  an-
nounced to the  commissioners that the somnambulist would
be  able  to  pick out  from twelve coins, that which he had
held in  his  hand.    A five-franc piece was selected, and
mixed with  twelve others,  but  M. Petit took the  wrong
one ; a watch, of which  the direction of  the hands was al-
tered from the actual  hour  of the  day, was presented  to
him, and he was twice wrong in mentioning the time which
they indicated.   This was accounted for by saying that M.
Petit had lost some of his lucidity since he had not been so
frequently magnetized ;  nevertheless, in the same sitting,
the reporter  to the commission  played  a game  of piquet
with  him, and  often tried to deceive him by announcing a
card of one color for another, but in vain ; M. Petit played
correctly, and knew the color of his adversary's cards.   Ev-
ery time, however, that a substance, as a sheet  of  paper or
parchment was placed between the eyes  and the object to
be distinguished, M. Petit could not distinguish it.
  " If these trials had been the only ones by which we had sought
to recognize clairvoyance, we should have concluded that the som- 
HISTORY   OF  ETHERIUM.          59
nambulist did not possess it; but in the following experiment this
faculty appeared in full evidence, and this  time  the  success  com-
pletely verified that which M. Dupotet had announced to us.
  " After the  patient had  been thrown into somnambulism, and
had exhibited some of the phenomena of muscular contraction and
agitation on the approach of the fingers or foot of the magnetizer,
a bandage was placed over the eyes.   Having declared,  however,
that he could not see with the bandage, it was removed, but then
constant attention was directed to the eyelids to verify that they
were exactly closed.   For this purpose a light was held  at a little
distance from the eyes during the  experiment, and several persons
were watching him closely ; one of them, M. Ribes, even remark-
ed, that the edges of the eyelids were so close, that the lashes of
the upper and lower  lids  crossed  each other.  The  same gentle-
man, a member of the Academie, then presented a catalogue which
he took  out of  his pocket; the somnambulist, after some  efforts
which appeared to fatigue him, read  very distinctly the words—
Lavater, il est bien  difficile de connoitre  les hommes—these last
words were in  very small type.   He next  recognized a passport
and a porte-d'armes, which is very like a passport: after a few in-
stants' attention he read, De par le roi and  Porte d'armes. An open'
letter was next shown him : he said he could not read it, as he  did
not understand English—the letter was in fact written in English.
He afterwards distinguished the representation of a dog before an
altar, on a snuff-box; and on a closed letter being presented to him,
though he could not read it, he pointed out the  direction  of  the
lines of writing.  On subsequently playing piquet, he handled the
cards with the greatest exactness, and, without ever being mis-
taken, notwithstanding attempts  to  deceive him were frequently
made, by  withdrawing or changing  the  cards; he  counted with
surprising facility the number of points marked upon his  adver-
 sary's marking-card.
   " Whilst M. Petit  was playing a second game, M. Dupotet, at
 the suggestion of M. Ribes, directed from behind, his hand towards
 the patient's elbow, and the contraction formerly observed recurred.
 Then, on the proposition of M. Bourdois,  he magnetised him from
 behind, at the distance of a foot,  with the intention of awakening
 him.  The ardor with which  the  somnambulist was playing, op- 
60         HISTORY  OF  E T II E R I U M .
posed this action, which seemed to annoy and vex him.  He seve-
ral times carried his hand to the back of his  head, as if he were
suffering; he afterwards fell into a stupor, which seemed to be a
light natural sleep, and on some one speaking to him in this state,
he waked up with a start.
  " Shortly afterwards he was again magnetised, and M. Dupotet,
desirous that not the shadow of a doubt should remain on the na-
ture of a physical action, exerted at will on the somnambulist, pro-
posed to put on him as many bandages as  the commissioners
pleased, and then to act upon him.   In consequence, his face down
to the nostrils was covered with several handkerchiefs; the cavity
formed by the prominence of  the nose J)eing filled up with gloves,
and a black handkerchief covered the whole, falling down to his
neck like a veil.  The  experiments were then repeated in various
ways, and the same kind of movements manifested themselves in
the parts towards which the hand or the foot were directed. After
a game at ecarte, which the somnambulist pursued with such ardor
that he remained  insensible to the action of M. Bourdois, who
vainly endeavored  to act upon him from behind, he rose, walked
across the room, putting aside the  chairs which wore in his  way,
and went to sit down at a distance from the experimenters, when
he Avas awakened by M. Dupotet.   When awakened, he said that
he retained no recollection of what had occurred during his som-
nambulism."

   I will now refer to the cases  in which the commissioners
witnessed, besides clairvoyance, the proofs of intuition, and
of a foresight  very remarkable, as regards  themselves and
 others.
   Paul Villagrand, a law  student, was attacked, 25th De-
cember,  1825, by apoplexy, with paralysis  of the  whole
left side  of  the  body ; after seventeen  months  of varied
treatment pursued at home, and  in a Maison  de  Sante, in
the course of which period he  had  two  fresh attacks, he
was admitted, Sth April, 1827, in  the hospital La Charite.
Although he had experienced marked relief from the means
employed before his admission, he still walked with crutches
without being able to lean upon  the  left  leg.  The arm of 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.        61
the same side could execute some under movements, but
he could not  raise  it to the head.  He could hardly see
with the right eye, and his  hearing was very bad on both
sides.  In this state he was placed under the care of M.
Fouquier.  During  five months,  he was bled, purged, or
blistered, from time to time, and  took the extract  of nux
vomica.  The left arm acquired a little strength, the head-
aches to which he was subject  subsided, and his  condition
remained  stationary till 29th August, 1827, on which day
he was magnetised  by  M. Poissac, according  to  the  order
and under the direction of M. Fouquier.  In this first sit-
ting he experienced a sensation of general  heat  and  mus-
cular twitchings.  He was astonished at the inclination  to
sleep, rubbed his  eyes and  made useless  efforts to keep
them open.   From this period  the deafness and  the  head-
ache disappeared.  It was only at the ninth sitting that the
sleep became complete ;  on  the tenth he answered by in-
articulate signs- to questions which were addressed  to him.
 On a subsequent occasion he announced that he could only
be cured with the assistance  of magnetism, and  prescribed
 himself sinapisms, baths of Bareges, and the continued use
 of pills of extract of nux vomica.  The 25th September the
 commission  repaired to La  Charite, caused the  patient to
 undress and verified the circumstance that  the left inferior
 extremity was much thinner than the other ; that the left
 hand pressed much  less strongly than the right; that the
 tongue, when protruded from the mouth,  was  drawn  to-
 wards  the right commissure.  On being  magnetised,  he
 again prescribed for himself, and added, that by pursuing
 the treatment for three days,  and on being magnetised, he
 would be able, on  awaking,  to walk without crutches. The
 treatment was accordingly followed up, and  on the stated
 day, the 25th, the commissioners arrived  at the  hospital.
 Paul entered the room supporting himself on his crutches,
 and was magnetised as usual.   When in somnambulism, he 
62         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
 stated that he would return to his bed without crutches  or
 support.  When awakened, he  asked for  his  crutches, but
 was answered that  he did  not  require them,—in fact, he
 arose, supported himself upon  the paralysed leg,  passed
 through the crowd, which followed him, descended the
 steps of the conference-room, crossed the court-yard  to the
 foot of  the staircase, which, after resting  himself a minute
 or two, he ascended with the assistance of an  arm and the
 bannister, went to his bed without support,  to the great
 astonishment  of all the patients, who till then had  only
 seen him fixed to his bed.   From that day he did not re-
 sume his crutches.
   When again magnetised, on  the  11th October, he an-
 nounced that he should be  completely cured if a seton were
 established  below  the region  of  the  heart.   On being
 pricked  with a pin on the eyelids,  he  evinced no sign  of
 sensibility.
   The magnetic experiments in  the hospital  were  at this
 period  put  a  stop to  by the administrative council.   The
 patient, however, said he could not sufficiently praise the
 efficacy of magnetism, and  was consequently removed from
 the hospital by M. Foissac, who continued the treatment  in
 a private apartment.
   On the 29th of the same  month, the commissioners went
 to his  apartment  to  ascertain  the  progress  of the  cure,
 which they found materially advanced.  On being somnam-
 bulised,  he  showed  increased strength, raised M. Thillaye
 from the ground, and on being told to descend  the staircase,
 abruptly quitted  his chair, took the arm of M. Foissac,
 whom he left at the door, descended and ascended the steps
two at a time with a convulsive rapidity, which, however,
became  moderated  when he was told to ascend only one  at
a time.   When awakened, he lost his surprising increase  of
strength: his gait was slow but assured ; he could not sup-
port the weight of his body upon the left leg,  and he tried 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.         63
in vain to raise M. Foissac.   It must be observed, that two
days  before  this  last experiment he had lost  two pounds
and a half of blood, had had blisters on his legs, a seton in
the nape, and another on the breast.

  " You will consequently perceive Avith us, gentlemen," continues
the Report, " what a prodigious increase of power magnetism had
developed in the diseased  organs, since the whole strength  of the
body had been more than quadrupled
  " Paul afterwards renounced all medical treatment, desiring that
the remedial  means should be restricted to magnetism ; and towards
the end of the year, as he expressed the desire to be put and kept
in somnambulism during eight days, in order that his cure should be
complete on the  1st of January, he was magnetised on the 25th of
December, and  from that day remained in somnambulism till the
1st of January.   During this  time he Avas awakened for twelve
hours  at unequal  intervals; and in  these brief moments  of the
waking state, he was suffered to believe that  he had only been
asleep for a few  hours.  During the whole time  of  his sleep the
digestive functions were performed with increased activity.
  "He had.beena sleep three days, when, still in somnambulism,
accompanied  by  M. Foissac, he set off on foot, the 28th of Decem-
ber, from the Rue Mondovi, and Avent to find  M. Fouquier at the
hospital, Avhere he arrived at nine  o'clock.   He there recognized
the patients near Avhom  he  had slept before leaving, as also the
pupils on service, and he read with closed eyes, Avhile a finger was
held on each  eyelid, some words which M. Fouquier showed him.
  "The  12th of January, the commissioners once more assembled
at the house of M. Foissac, where were present M. E. De Las
Cases, deputy ; the Count De Rumigny, aide-de-camp to the king;
and M. Segalas, member of  the Academy.  M. Foissac stated to
us, that when Paul was in the state of somnambulism, a finger might
be held on each  of his closed eyes, and that  notwithstanding the
complete occlusion of the lids, he Avould distinguish the color of
cards, would read the  title of a book, and some lines in any part
which might be opened.  After a couple of minutes of magnetic
gestures, Paul is asleep.  The eyelids-being held closed constantly
and alternately by MM. Fouquier, Itard, Marc and the reporter; a
new pack of  cards is  brought, and the stamped envelope  of the 
64         HISTORY  OF ETHERIUM.

government torn off;  the cards are shuffled, and Paul recognizes,
easily and successively, the king of spades, the ace of clubs, queen
of spades, nine of clubs, seven of diamonds, queen of diamonds,
and eight of diamonds."
  He also  reads lines from a History of France, which the
reporter had  brought Avith him,  as likewise a  paper on
which two words had been written.   In all these  experi-
ments the  fingers were applied on the whole of the commis-
sure of the eyes, pressing  the lid from  above  downwards,
and the commissioners remarked that the  globe of  the eye
had been  in a constant movement of rotation,  and seemed
to direct itself towards the object submitted to vision.
   Analogous effects were repeated on subsequent occasions,
 and the commissioners remarked that—

   " The conclusions to be drawn from this long and curious case
 are  easy;  they flow naturally from the  simple exposition of the
 facts which we have related, and we  enumerate them in the fol-
 lowing manner :—1 st. A patient Avhom a rational  medication  by
 one of the  first practitioners of the  capital was not able to cure of
 paralysis, finds his cure in the employment of magnetism, and in
 the exactness with Avhich the treatment is pursued, which he pre-
 scribes for himself Avhile in somnambulism.  2d. In this state  his
 strength is notably increased.  3rd.  He gives us the most undenia-
 ble proof that he reads with the eyes closed. 4th. He foresees the
 period of his cure, and is cured at  the time which he announced."

   The case of another patient, a  journeyman hatter, aged
 twenty, born of an epileptic mother, and  subject to  fits of
 epilepsy five  or six  times a week, for ten years, is next
 given  in  the  report.  This individual predicted, while in
 somnambulism,  the periods of his  attacks, and when  he
 Avould be cured;  the  former predictions were verified, but
 before the term which he had fixed for his cure  arrived he
 was knocked down by a cabriolet and killed.   The  com-
 missioners observe upon  this case,—
   " We see in this  instance, a young man, subject, during  ten 
HISTORY OF  ETHERIUM.         65
years, to attacks of epilepsy, for which he had been successively
treated at two hospitals, and  exempted from  military  service.
Magnetism acts upon him, although he is completely ignorant of
what is done to him: he becomes a somnambulist.  The symptoms
of his disease are ameliorated, the attacks diminish in frequency,
his headaches and oppression  disappear beneath the influence of
magnetism;  he prescribes himself a treatment  appropriated to the
nature of his disease, and from which he promises himself a cure.
Being magnetised without his knowing it, and from afar, he falls
into somnambulism, and is awakened from it with the same quick-
ness as when the magnetiser  is near him.  Lastly, he indicates,
with a rare  precision, one and two months before-hand, the day
and hour at which he is to have an attack of epilepsy; neverthe-
less, although endowed with a foresight for attacks at so distant a
period, as well as for those which are never to take place, he does
not foresee that in two days he will meet  with a fatal accident."
   On this last circumstance the commissioners remark, that
the previsions of  the patient relate only to his attacks, that
they are reduced  to  the consciousness of  the organic modi-
fications which prepare themselves  and happen to  him, as
the necessary result of interior functions ;  that  these  pre-
visions, though more extended, are similar to  those  of cer-
tain epileptics, who know  from several  precursory symp-
toms that they will have an attack.    They continue—

   " Let us add, that his prevision is not absolute ; that it is condi-
tional ; since, when foretelling an attack, he stated that it would not
take place if he \Arere magnetised; and, in  fact, it  does not take
place, it  is altogether organic—internal.  Thus we can conceive
whyhe did not foresee an event altogether  external, viz: that chance
should lead him in the way of a fiery horse, and that, in  attempt-
ing to stop it, he should  receive a mortal wound."

   In the next case, the somnambulist, a female, besides the
ordinary phenomena  of somnambulism, exhibits  that of
ascertaining the  symptoms  of persons  presented  to  her.
One of these was M. Marc, one of  the commissioners ; an-
other was a dropsical  young woman, with some peculian-
                  4 
66         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
ties, which were indicated by the somnambulist, on touch-
ing her, with tolerable precision :

  " It results from these observations," says the report," 1st. That
while in the state of somnambulism, Mademoiselle C. has pointed
out the diseases of three persons with Avhom she was placed in
relation  {communication).  2d.  That  the declaration  of  the  one,
the examination which was made of the other, after thrice tapping,
and the  autopsic examination of the  third, were found to accord
with what the somnambulist had advanced.   3d. That the differ-
ent modes of treatment Avhich she prescribed  are not  beyond the
circle of remedies which she might know, nor beyond that of the
order of things which she might reasonably recommend; and 4th.
That she applied them with a kind of discernment."
   The report terminates by saying, " The commission has reported
 with impartiality that Avhich it had seen with distrust; it has ex-
 posed methodically that Avhich it has observed under different cir-
 cumstances, and which it has followed up with an  attention as
 close as continued.   It has the consciousness that the statements
 which it presents to you are the  faithful expression of that which
it has observed.   The obstacles which it has met with are known
to you ; they are partly the cause of the delay which has occurred
in presenting the  report, although it  has long been in possession
of the materials.  We are, however, far from excusing ourselves,
 or from complaining  of this  delay, since it  gives to  our observa-
tions a character of maturity and reserve which should  lead you
to confide in the facts which we  have related, without the charge
of prepossession and enthusiasm, with which you might have re-
proached us if we had only recently collected  them.  We add, that
we are far from thinking that Ave have seen all that is to be seen,
and we do not  pretend to lead you to  admit as an axiom, that there
is nothing positive in magnetism  beyond what Ave mention in our
report.   Far from placing limits to this part of physiological sci-
ence, we entertain, on the contrary, the hope that a new field is
opened to it; and, warranting our own observations, presenting
them with confidence to those who,  after us, will  occupy them-
selves Avith  magnetism, Ave restrict  ourselves  to drawing  the fol-
lowing  conclusions, Avhich are  the  necessary  consequence of the
facts, the totality of which constitutes our report. 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.         67
                       " CONCLUSIONS.
  " 1.  Contact of the thumbs or the hands, frictions or certain ges-
tures termed passes made at a little distance from the body, are the
means  employed to place in relation, or,  in other words, to trans-
mit the action from the magnetiser to the  magnetised.
  " 2.  The actions, A\diich are external and visible, are not always
necessary, since on many occasions the will, the fixed look of the
magnetiser, have sufficed to  produce magnetic phenomena, even
when unknoAArn to the magnetised.
  " 3.  Magnetism has acted on persons of different sex and age.
  " 4.  Magnetism does not generally act upon  healthy persons,
nor does it act upon  all invalids.
  " 5.  Whilst  persons  are  being  magnetised,  insignificant and
transient effects sometimes occur,  which, we do not ascribe to
magnetism alone, but which may be accounted for without the in-
tervention of  a particular agent, viz. by hope or fear, expectation
from a something new and unknoAvn, the ennui resulting from the
monotony of the gestures, the silence  and repose observed in the
experiments : lastly, by the imagination,  which exercises so pow-
erful an influence over some minds.
  " 6.  A certain number of the effects observed  have appeared to
us to result from magnetism alone, and were not reproduced with-
out it.   These are Avell authenticated physiological and therapeuti-
cal phenomena.
  " 7.  The real effects produced by magnetism are very varied ; it
agitates some, calms others, it usually accelerates  the respiration
and circulation, causes transient convulsive  movements similar to
electric shocks, a lassitude and torpor more or less profound, som-
nolency, and, in a small number of instances, what the magnetisers
term somnambulism.
  " 8.  The existence of a special character proper to make known
in all cases the reality of the state of somnambulism, has not been
proved.
  " 9.  It may, however, be inferred Avith certainty that this state
exists, Avhen it gives  rise  to the  development of new faculties
which have been designated by the  name of clairvoyance, intuition,
internal prevision ; or Avhen it produces great changes in the phy-
siological state, as insensibility, a sudden and considerable increase 
68         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
of strength,  and Avhen this  state cannot  be referred to another
cause.
  " 10.  As among the effects ascribed  to somnambulism there are
some which may be simulated,  so  may somnambulism itself be
simulated, and furnish charlatanism  Avith means of deception.
  " 11.  Sleep, produced more or  less speedily, and established in a
degree more or less profound, is a real, but not a constant, effect of
magnetism.
  " 12.  It has been demonstrated to  us, that sleep may be produced
under circumstances in which the magnetised have not  been able
to perceive, and have been ignorant of, the means employed to oc-
casion it.
   " 13.  When a person has been  already  magnetised, it is not
always necessary to have recourse  to contact, or to the passes, in
order to magnetise afresh.   The look of  the magnetiser, his will
alone, has often the same influence.  In this case, one cannot only
act upon the magnetised, but throw him completely into somnam-
bulism, and awaken him from this  state without his being aware
of it, out of his  sight,  at a certain distance, and  through closed
doors.
   " 14. There usually take place changes  more or less remarkable
in the perceptions and the faculties of individuals  in whom som-
nambulism is produced by magnetism.
   " 15. We have not seen any person fall into somnambulism on
being magnetised for the first time.  It has sometimes been not
until the eighth or  tenth  sitting that somnambulism  has become
manifest.
   " 16.  We have constantly seen ordinary sleep, which is the re-
pose of the organs of the senses, of  the intellectual faculties and
voluntary movements, precede and terminate  the state of somnam-
bulism.
  " 17.  When awakened, somnambulists declare that they do not
recollect any of the circumstances of the state of somnambulism.*
  "18.  We have seen two somnambulists distinguish with closed
eyes the objects placed before them ; they  have designated,  with-
out touching them, the color and  name of cards ; they have read
   * They will recollect,  if  requested  to  dp so  before
awakened. 
            HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.          69

words written, or lines from a  book.   This phenomenon has oc-
curred even when the eyelids were kept closed by the fingers.
  " 19.  We have met with  two somnambulists, with the faculty
of foreseeing acts of  the organism, more or less distinct, more or
less complicated.
  " 20.  We have only met with one somnambulist who could in-
dicate the symptoms of the disease of three persons with whom she
was placed in relation.  We had,  however, made researches on a
considerable number.
  " 21.  In order to determine with justness the relation of magne-
tism with therapeutics,*  the effects  must have been observed on a
great number of individuals, and  experiments  should have been
made for a long period and daily on the same diseases.  This not
having been done, the commission must restrict itself to saying that
it has seen too few  cases to be able to pronounce an opinion on
this point.
  " 22.  Some  of the  patients magnetised have derived no advan-
tage, others have experienced  more or less marked benefit; viz :
one patient, the relief of habitual pains; another, the return of
strength;  a third, a suspension of  several months of epileptic at-
tacks ;  and a fourth, the complete  cure  of serious and  long-stand-
ing paralysis.
  " 23.  Considered  as an agent of physiological phenomena, or as
a therapeutical means, magnetism ought to find a place within the
sphere of medical knowledge, and consequently only medical prac-
titioners ought to employ it,  or to superintend its employment, as
is practiced in the countries of the  north.
  " 24.  The commission could  not verify, because it  had no op-
portunity, the other faculties which magnetism had stated to exist
in somnambulists.   But  it has  collected, and communicates  to the
Academie, facts sufficiently important to induce it to think thatthe
Academie ought to  encourage  researches on magnetism as a very
curious branch of psychology and natural history.
  " Certainly we dare not flatter ourselves that Ave shall make you
share entirely our conviction of the  reality of the phenomena which
we have observed, and which you  have neither seen, nor followed,
nor studied with, or in  opposition to us.  We do  not, therefore,
* The cure of diseases. 
70        HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.
exact from you a blind belief in all which Ave have reported.  We
conceive that a great part of the facts are so extraordinary, that
you cannot grant it to us : perhaps we ourselves should have re-
fused you our belief, if, changing places, you had come to announce
them before this tribunal to us, who, like you at present, had seen
nothing, observed  nothing, studied nothing, folloAved  nothing of
them.
  " We only require that you judge us as we should have judged
you, that is to say, that you remain perfectly convinced that
neither the love of the wonderful, nor the desire  of celebrity, nor
any interest whatever, has influenced us in  our labors.  We were
animated by motives more elevated, more worthy of you—by the
love of science, and by the wish to  justify the  hopes which the
Academie had conceived of our zeal and devotedness.
            " (Signed)    Bourdois de la Motte, President;
                           Fouquier, Gueneau de  Mussy,
                           guersent itard, leroux, marc,
                           Thillate, Husson, Reporter."

   Various  theories have been from  time to time promul-
gated in explanation of the extraordinary  phenomena of
 mesmerism.   It was assumed by Mesmer that there was a
reciprocal influence continually subsisting between the hea-
venly bodies, the earth and animated  nature, through  the
medium of a certain very subtile fluid pervading  the  whole
universe, and capable  of receiving, propagating   and  com-
municating every impulse of motion.

  " The properties of matter, and of organised bodies," says Mes-
mer, « depend upon this operative principle.  The animal body ex-
periences the alternative effects of this agent, which,  by insinuating
itself into the substance of the  nerves, affects them immediately.
The  human body exhibits properties  analogous to those of the
magnet, such as polarity and inclination.  The property of the
animal body, which renders it susceptible  of this influence, occa-
sioned its denomination of Animal Magnetism."

  Mr. Colquhoun,  after remarking that the profound and
interesting researches  of those eminent  physiologists, Reil 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.         71
Authenreith, and Humboldt, have gone far, not only to de-
monstrate the existence  of a nervous circulation, but even
to render probable the external expansion of this circulating
fluid, goes on to say,—

  " Were we, then, to admit the existence of this nervous fluid, of
its sensible atmosphere, and its analogy in other respects to  elec-
tricity, it does not seem to  be a very violent or unphilosophical
hypothesis to  presume that, in certain circumstances, and under
certain conditions, it may be capable of being directed outwards,
by the volition of one individual, with such  energy as  to produce
a peculiar effect upon the organization of another.   This hypothe-
sis, too, appears  to be supported by the fact, that individuals pos-
sessing sound health and great nervous energy, operate, in gene-
ral, most effectually in the magnetic treatment; and that weak and
diseased persons are most susceptible  of the magnetic influence)
and manifest the most extraordinary phenomena.*   Almost all the
practitioners of Animal Magnetism, indeed, seem to agree in this,
that the  magnetic  treatment operates principally,  if not entirely,
upon the nervous system, and particularly upon those nerves which
are situated in the abdominal region."

   The decision  of  the  French  Commissioners  of 1784,
which is generally supposed to have been utterly hostile to
mesmerism, was  in reality principally directed against Mes-
mer's  theory of a fluid.   The facts, or at  least a numerous
portion of them,  were admitted, the theory being the main
point of attack.  The commissioners tell us—

  " That AA^hich Ave have learned, or at least that which has  been
proved to  us, in a clear and  satisfactory manner, by our inquiry
into the phenomena of  mesmerism, is, that man can act upon man
at all times, and  almost at will, by striking his imagination ; that
signs and gestures  the  most simple may produce the most power-
ful effects; that  the action  of man upon the imagination may  be
reduced to an art, and conducted after a certain method, when ex-
ercised upon patients Avho have faith in the proceedings."
  * 1 have frequently succeeded with persons of great strength and
vigor. 
72         HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.

   The French Commissioners explained the whole pheno-
mena by attributing them  to  the  power of imagination.
The celebrated Cuvier, who fully admits the truth of mes-
merism, writes on this point, as quoted by Dr. Elhotson m
his Human Physiology,—

   « We must confess  that it  is veiy difficult, in the experiments
which have for their object the action Avhich the nervous systems
of two different individuals can exercise one upon another,  to dis-
tinguish the effects of the imagination of the individual upon whom
the experiment is  tried, from the physical result produced by  the
person who acts for him.  The effects, hoAvever, on persons igno-
rant of the agency, and upon  individuals Avhom the operation itself
 has deprived of consciousness, and  those Avhich animals present,
 do not permit us to doubt that the  proximity of two animated
 bodies in certain positions, combined with certain movements, have
 a real effect, independently of all participation of the fancy. It ap-
 pears also clearly, that these effects arise from some nervous com-
 munication which is established between their nervous systems."

    Dr. Gall admits this power, and even does not reject  the
 hypothesis of its  connection with a fluid.

    " How often," says  he, " in intoxication, hysterical and hypo-
 chondriacal attacks, convulsions, fever, and insanity, under violent
 emotions, after long fasting,  through the effect of such poisons as
 opium,  hemlock or  belladonna, are Ave not,  in  some measure,
 transferred  into  perfectly   different beings—for  instance,  into
 poets,  actors, &c—just as  in  dreaming, the thoughts frequent-
 ly have more delicacy, and the sensations  are more acute,  and
 we can hear and  ansAver;  just  as, in  ordinary  somnambulism,
 we can rise,  walk, see, touch Avith the  hands, &c.; so we allow
 that similar phenomena may take place in artificial somnambulism,
 and  even in  a higher degree.   We acknowledge a fluid which
 has an especial affinity with the nervous system, which can ema-
 nate from an  individual, pass into another, and  accumulate, in vir-
 tue of particular  affinities, more  in certain  parts  than in others.
  *  In another part of this work I have shown that even credencive
imagination is the result of physical causes. 
HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM.          73
We  admit the existence of a fluid, the subtraction of which less-
ens,  and the  accumulation augments, the power of the  nerves 5
which places one part of the nervous system in repose, and height-
ens the activity of another, which, therefore, may produce an arti-
ficial somnambulism."

   A rigid mathematician, La Place, observes, that

  " Of all the instruments which we can employ, in order to enable
us to discover the imperceptible agents of nature, the nerves are
the most sensible, especially Avhen  their  sensibility is exalted by
particular causes. It is by means of them  that Ave have discovered
the slight electricity which is developed by the contact^ of two hete-
rogeneous metals. The^singular phenomena which result from the
external sensibility  of the nerves in particular individuals, have
given birth to various opinions relative to the existence of a new
agent, which has been denominated animal magnetism, to the ac-
tion  of  the common magnetism, to the influence of the sun  and
moon in  some nervous affections; and, lastly, to the impressions
which may be experienced from the proximity of the metals, or of
a running water.  It is natural to suppose that the action  of these
causes is very feeble, and  that it may be  easily disturbed  by acci-
dental circumstances; but, because, in some cases, it has not been
manifested at all, Ave are not to conclude it has no existence.   We
are so far from being acquainted Avith all the agents of nature, and
their different modes of action, that it would be quite  unphilosophi-
cal to deny the existence of the phenomena, merely because they
are inexplicable in the present state of our knowledge."
   Dr.  Elliotson gives his own opinion in these words:
   " I have no hesitation in declaring my conviction that the facts
of mesmerism which I admit, because they are not contrary to es-
tablished morbid phenomena, result from a specific poAver.  Even
 they are sometimes unreal and feigned, and,  when real, are some-
 times the result of emotion—of imagination, to  use common lan-
 guage ;  but, that they may be real and independent of all  imagina-
 tion, I have seen quite sufficient to  convince me."

   And after giving the  particulars of some cases,  he  thus
 proceeds:
                   4* 
74        HISTORY  OF  ETHERIUM,
  " These are the phenomena which 1 have witnessed. To ascribe
them to emotion and fancy, to  suppose  collusion and deception,
would be absurd.   They must be ascribed to a peculiar power ; to
a power acting, as I have no doubt, constantly in all living things,
vegetable and animal, but shown in a peculiar manner by the pro-
cesses of mesmerism."

  The history of mesmerism in  this country is essentially
similar to that in Europe, the principal difference being in
the names of the persons concerned.   There  has been the
same enthusiasm,  credulity and  superstition  in  its favor,
and  the  same haughty contempt or sneering  skepticism
opposed  to  its pretensions ; while those best qualified for
its investigation, have deemed it unworthy  of their serious
and continued attention. 
SECTION  III.
             NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

   Having given a general and brief view of the  history of
 Etherium, as manifested in the form of Etheropathy or mes-
 merism, it will be perceived that the  doctrine of a univer-
 sal fluid, as the agent concerned in producing the  effects,
 is  supported by every  distinguished operator and author
 from the time of Van-Helmont to the present.
   The received Theory of  Light is, that  it depends upon
 the undulations of a universal  fluid, it  is found impossible
 otherwise to account for the facts which are  known upon
 the subject.  The  theory of Newton, that  " Light is an
 emanation  of particles  moving  in straight lines with in-
 credible velocity,"  is now exploded; and the undulatory
 theory  of  Huygens receives the sanction  of  modern phi-
 losophers with very few exceptions.  Light, is not, by the
 greatest philosophers, now considered a material substance
 in itself, but the vibration—the pulsation—the undulation
 —the peculiar wave-like  motion of a material   ocean of
 universal etherium, just  as  sound  is a motion of the  air.
 If you suspend a  ball in the centre of a pool of water,  and
 then cause  the ball  to revolve so as to disturb the surface,
 there will be a regular succession of waves which will,  one
 after the other reach the shore, and each make an impres-
 sion upon the various objects which constitute the bounds
of the pool.   In a similar manner, the sun, and every other
body from  which  light  emanates,  disturbs the  ocean  of 
76         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

etherium,  and  produces  a  regular succession of waves,
which, on striking  the optic nerve, communicates  or'in-
ducts  its own peculiar motions,  which motions are con-
tinued  along the nerve to the phreno-organ  of color,  and
from that organ  to  the  organ of  Conciousness,  thus pro-
ducing the conciousness  which we acquire of  the color of
different objects.
   The different colors of objects are OAving to the  differ-
ent degrees of rapidity with which the waves  of  etherium
are propagated.
   To prevent my unscientific readers from suspecting the
accuracy  of these statements  in regard  to  the received
theory of light, I will take the liberty to  quote, from the
Lectures of Dr.  Lardner, a  few  extracts relating to  this
subject:—

   " The sun or a lamp acting on this aether, as it is  called,  puts it
into  a state of pulsation; the vibrations passing through it as those
of sound through the  air.   This pulsation is propagated  to the
eye—reaches the retina, and puts  that delicate membrane into a
state of tremulous motion which is the proximate cause of the im-
pression of light produced in the mind,  It  has been, moreover,
discovered by modern  science, that the varying rapidity of these
vibrations is the cause of the difference in the colors of the spec-
trum :  and what  is still more remarkable, these vibrations have
been subjected to admeasurement.  The various colors, blue, green,
&c,  are nothing more than the effects of the different rates of pulsa-
tion  imparted to the retina at the back of the  eye-ball.  A  ray of
vibration enters the chamber of the eye through the pupil—a small
black spot in the centre of every eye, which is merely an aperture
through which a  rod might be thrust—and causes the retina to vi-
brate at different rates.  Science has discovered a method of com-
puting  the rate at which this membrane pulsates ; and the number
of vibrations per second, Avhen the sensation of redness is produced,
and so  for the other colors.  There Avould be nothing  extraordi-
nary in this if this  was any ordinary rate, as for instance,  fifty
times in a second.   But when I tell you that the number of vibra-
tions for one color is six hundred millions per second, seven hun- 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          77
dred millions each second for another,  and that  it is  never less
th&n six nor more  than nine hundred millions—when  I tell you
that modern science has estimated this with close accuracy, you
will admit that it has accomplished what approaches very near  to
the miraculous.
  " These observations have been suggested by reference to the fal-
lacies into which we are led by the senses—and this is especially
applicable to the impressions of the different colors; for the truth
is, that probably no two persons receive precisely the  same im-
pression from the same color.  There are numberless instances  of
different impressions made upon different individuals, and nothing
is more common than an inability to distinguish between green and
blue.   There are hundreds of persons who are never able to distin-
guish by their colors the cherries upon a tree from its leaves.  The
celebrated Dugald Stewart,  the Avell  known chemist,  Dalton,
and many other names, probably familiar to you all, might be men-
tioned of persons who  Avere unable to distinguish the different
colors.
  " By a little management we may be  able to see bodies that do
not exist, and if we take the evidence of  the senses on these points,
we should be led to believe in all sorts  of spectres—the effect  of
factitious vibrations produced by various causes.   It would require
weeks to enumerate all the  exhibitions  of this deception;  but I
will mention one or two which may amuse, and at the  same  time
be instructive.  Take a stick of red sealing wax and place it be-
tween the eye end a sheet of white paper ; after keeping the eye
steadily fixed upon the wax  for a short  time, look  beside it, and
you will see a stick of blue wax as distinctly as you perceive the
real Avax.   In this way a succession of  spectra may be  produced.
Thus, by looking steadily at a red wafer for a short time, you will
be able to see beside it the ghost of a blue Avafer ;  and  conversely
a blue Avafer will give birth  to the ghost of a red one—these two
colors being correlative to each other; the retina, by the action  of
the one, is put into a  state of morbid vibration by which  the effect
is produced.   It is explicable by supposing that Avhen the retina is
put into a state of pulsation, its motions continue for a  short time,
just as a bell continues to ring for some seconds after it is struck.
   " A Avish has  been  expressed that I should explain more fully a
circumstance to which I alluded, briefly, in a former lecture; name- 
78
NATURE OF ETHERIUM.
ly—the effect  produced on the retina of the eye by light.  I ex-
plained the principle of light, as established by modern physics,
and the impression of the different colors upon the retina.  The
physical principle on which light  depends, was, for a long while,
and is still, in dispute among philosophers.  One  sect maintains
that light is a physical emanation from a  luminous body, Avhich
passes through  space  at  the  rate of 200,000 miles in a second,
reaches the eye, affects the retina, and produces an impression in
the mind.  They hold that the white light of the sun is composed
of particles of different kinds, each producing the notion of a  dif-
ferent color.   This theory has been in dispute, and is found to be
insufficient for the explanation  of certain  phenomena, discovered
by modern science.  This theory, hoAvever, was  maintained by
Newton.
   " Another theory, which is  now generally received, is this:   It
supposes that the whole universe  is filled Avith a fluid called aether,
extremely subtile and elastic;  and that the luminous body produces
the effect, by imparting to this aether a certain pulsation, precisely
similar to that of sound, to which  I have already referred.  These
vibrations are supposed to be  transmitted to the  eye, with the  ve-
locity already mentioned.  Having entered the  eye, it causes  the
retina to vibrate, just as does  the ear-drum in hearing, only these
pulsations are infinitely more rapid and delicate than those of sound.
This  theory maintains that the colors  of the spectrum,—as red,
orange, blue, &c.,—are nothing more  than the effects of greater or
less rapidity of vibration.   If  the  retina pulsates ;,at one rate,  red
will be seen;  if at another, blue, &c.   This is the general outline
of the theory now generally received, in reference to the Corpuscu-
lar theory, which was held by Newton, but which is  insufficient
to explain many of the phenomena observed, which  the undulating
theory perfectly accounts  for.   What all these  phenomena are, I
cannot explain in full;  I Avill, however,  mention one  of them,
which is among the most remarkable.
  " If two beams of light be admitted through small apertures in
a screen, and be made to cross each other, under certain circum-
stances, so that they fall upon  the same point, you Avould naturally
expect that that point would be twice  as light as if but one beam
fell upon it.  According to the Corpuscular theory, which holds 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          79
light to he a material substance, the more of it there was accumu-
lated upon any point, the greater would be its illumination.   But
it has been shown  by modern  science, that, instead of this result,
the two beams destroy  each other, and a black spot is observed at
the point of intersection.  If either  of the beams be intercepted,
the spot becomes luminous ; but if both be allowed  to fall upon it
together, it becomes black: either of the two will illuminate it—
both together produce  darkness.  Now the Corpuscular theory
fails to account for this phenomenon; but it is clearly explained by
the theory of an undulating medium.  I can only give the expla-
nation in a general Avay, as thus: It is necessary to show that it is
possible for two  systems of waves to obliterate each other, in
order  to the explanation; for if  the presence of waves is essential
to illumination, any thing which destroys them must produce dark-
ness.   Now if we suppose two  systems of waves propagated along
the surface of a pond, we may easily imagine that the crests of one
system  shall fall directly in the hollows of the other—and we
should thus have a surface perfectly smooth.  This is what hap-
pens in this case.   The two beams, every time they come together,
cause two systems  of waves, of which the crests of one fall into the
hollows of the other, and the aether is in the same state as if  there
were no waves at all.  Of course, according to  this theory,  there
can be no light.  But if we  make the slightest change in the beams,
so that the crests of one system of waves shall be out of the hol-
lows, the spot will be instantly  illuminated.
   " Now it is known that light moves at the rate  of 200,000 miles
in a second of time.  During every second, then, a beam of light
200,000 miles in length enters  the  eye.  And, as has just been
shown, for every  inch  of  that beam there  are 40,000 Avaves, or
pulsations, for red light, and a certain known number for the other
colors.  And now  can  you not see how we are able to determine
the number of vibrations on the retina ?  All that is necessary is,
to find how many inches there are in the beam which enters the
eye in a single second; multiply that number by the number of
waves in a single inch for  each color, and you have at once the
number of vibrations."

   Heat.  The  received theory of Heat is, that it is but 
80          NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
another peculiar motion of the same etherial ocean, the un-
dulations of which produce light
   Mr. Duncan Bradford in his " Wonders of the Heavens,"
says:—
  " It has lately been discovered, that the rays of light, and the rays
of heat, or caloric, are distinct from each other; for it can  be de-
monstrated that some rays from the sun produce heat which have
no poAver of communicating light or color.  The greatest heat is
found in the red rays, the least in the violet rays ;  and in a space
(in the  solar spectrum) beyond the red rays, where  there is no
light, the temperature is the greatest.   The rays  of the sun have
also been found to produce different chemical  effects.  The  white
muriate of silver is blackened in  the  violet ray, in the space of
fifteen seconds, though  the red ray  will  not produce the same
effect in less than  twenty minutes.  Phosphorus is  kindled in the
vicinity  of the  red ray, and extinguished in  the  vicinity of the
violet.  The solar light, therefore, consists of three  different^orders
of rays, one producing color, a second producing heat, and a third
chemical effects.
  " The sun's rays are the ultimate source  of almost every motion
which takes place on  the surface of the  earth.  By its heat are
produced all Avinds, and those disturbances in  the electric equilib-
rium of the atmosphere Avhich give  rise  to  the  phenomena of
terrestrial magnetism.  By their vivifying action,  vegetables are
elaborated from organic matter, and become, in their turn, the sup-
port of  animals and of man, and the  sources of these great de-
posits of dynamical efficiency which are laid up for human use in
our coal strata.  By them the waters of the sea are made  to  cir-
culate in vapor through the air, and irrigate the land, producing
springs and rivers.  By them are produced all disturbances of the
chemical equilibrium of the elements of nature, Avhich, by a series
of compositions and decompositions, give  rise to  new products,
and originate- a transfer of materials.   Even the slow degradation
of the solid constituents of the surface in which its chief geological
changes consist, and their diffusion among the waters of the ocean
are entirely due to the  abrasion of the  winds  and rains, and the
alternate action  of the season.  And when Avre consider  the  im-
mense transfer of matter so produced, the increase of pressure over 
             NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          81

 large spaces in the bed of the ocean, and the diminution over cor-
 responding portions of the land, Ave are not at a loss to perceive
 hoAv the elastic poAver of subterranean fires, thus repressed on the
 one hand, and relieved on the other, may break forth in points
 where  the  resistance  is barely adequate  to their retention,  and
 thus bring the phenomena of even  volcanic electricity under the
 general law of solar influence.   The great mystery, however, is
 to conceive how so enormous a conflagration (if-such  it be) can be
 kept  up.   Every  discovery in chemical science  leaves us com-
 pletely at a loss, or rather seems to remove farther the prospect of
 probable explanation.
   " The opacity of the interior of the globe of the sun is no reason
 why it may not act a part in the production or preservation of the
 solar  heat; on the contrary, it appears highly probable and con-
 sistent Avith the discoveries, that the dark solid nucleus of the sun
 is the magazine from Avhich its heat is discharged, while the lumi-
 nous  or phosphorescent mantle Avhich the  heat freely pervades is
 the region where its light is generated.  Herschel's own experi-
 ments  assure us,  that  invisible rays, Avhich  have the power of
 heating, and which are totally distinct from those which produce
 light, are  actually  emitted from the sun;  and that luminous rays,
 incapable of producing heat, are discharged from  the same source.
 These facts, therefore,  not only confirm the theory which Ave have
 stated, but receive  in return from that theory the most satisfactory
 explanation.   The invisible rays Avhich pervade  every part of the
 solar  spectrum formed  by a prism, and which extend beyond its
red extremity are emitted from the  opaque  nucleus, and therefore
 excite no  sensation of light on  the human retina; while the colored
 rays,  Avhich form  the spectrum  itself, are discharged from  the
 luminous matter that encircles the solid nucleus, and are therefore
 endowed  with the properties of illumination.  Hence it is easy to
assign the reason Avhy the light and heat of the sun are apparently
ahvays  in a state of  combination,  and  Avhy the one emanation
cannot be obtained Avithout the other.   The heat projected from
the dark body, and  the light  emitted from the  luminous atmos-
phere, are thrown  off in lines diverging in every possible direction;
so that the tAvo radiations must be uniformly intermingled, and, as
in a stream floAving from two  contiguous sources, the heat must
always  accompany its kindred  element.   We find the invisible 
82
nature  of  etherium.
heat of the sun existing separately from its light, and possessing a
degree of refrangibility less than the least refrangible rays  of the
prismatic spectrum.  Light has likeAvise been found separate from
heat,  and though it may be  imagined that this arises from the
extreme tenuity of the  light, yet, Avhen the  light of the moon  is
concentrated by poAverful burning  mirrors, we ought certainly  to
have expected that the heat, if any  did exist, Avould be appreciable
by delicate thermometers.  Every attempt, hoAvever, to detect heat
in the rays of the moon has completely failed, and Ave are entitled
to presume that a greater proportion of heat than of light has been
absorbed by that luminary.  If light and heat, then, be  two differ-
ent substances, endowed with different chemical and physical pro-
perties, is it not unphilosophical to suppose that they are emitted
from the same source, when we have actually two different regions
 in  the  sun, to which we can, with  more propriety,  refer their
 origin ?"

    These notions of Mr. Bradford are not inconsistent with
the idea that heat, though j£ may originate in a different part
 of the  sun, is but a different motion of the same substance as
light.   That motion of  etherium which constitutes  heat,
may proceed from the internal parts of  bodies, while that
 motion which constitutes light  may proceed from the sur-
 face merely.
    Prof. Faraday, in a lecture delivered at  the Royal Insti-
 tute, June  1st,  1844, makes the following  interesting re-
 marks, which forcibly illustrate the idea that the motions
 of etherium may be modified to produce different kinds  of
heat as well as different  kinds  of light, and different kinds
of electricity.  He remarks, (I quote  from  The  Civil En-
gineer  and Architect's Journal) :

   " When light falls on a polished  opaque substance, it is reflected
from it, or throAvn off in an opposite direction, the angle of reflec-
tion being always equal to the angle at Avhich it falls on the sur-
face.  If the body is transparent, the greater part of the light passes
through it, and if the light falls angular on it, it is refracted,  or
bent from its course, and when the transparent substance is prism- 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
83
shaped, the light is thrown completely in another direction.   Such
substances as ice and glasa allow light to pass through, and refract
it, but polished metals reflect, and do not allow it to pass.   The
same facts have been observed with respect to heat, and although
it cannot be seen in its passage, its transfer can be proved. When
the hand is held towards a fire, a heat is felt, which  is due to its
being radiated,  or thrown equally, as from  a centre,  in all direc-
tions.  The effects of radiated heat may be watched  by using a
red-hot ball, which will be found to give off heat equally in all di-
rections, and will readily light a piece of phosphorous placed  at a
great distance below  it. A flat mirror, held in the path of the rays
of heat, will reflect them, and the rays may thus be thrown on any
required spot.  If, instead of one mirror, three hundred or four hun-
dred are  employed, and so placed that the heat reflected from each
should fall on the same spot, the effect  of  course is  greatly aug-
mented.  A concave minor may be considered as such an assem-
blage of myriads  of  flat mirrors, and its focus as the spot Avhere
their reflected heat is accumulated.  With two parabolic reflectors,
the effects of radiated and accumulated heat are very  striking.  A
red-hot ball placed in the focus of one will fire combustibles  held
in the focus of  the other, though they  may be far apart, and ice
produces in a similar manner, cooling effects.
   " The rays of heat and  light are not  hot, and it is an error in
thought and word  to call them so.   The rays of .heat are heating
rays, but not hot rays.   This is beautifully illustrated  by the  ex-
periments of Melloni, who found that  various transparent  sub-
stances alloAved heat to pass through them in various proportions;
that those bodies that  allow it to pass freely through them do not
become heated, and that those that stop the rays become heated ex-
actly in that proportion.   He placed a red-hot ball on a stand, and
the two substances he  wished to compare on opposite sides of it,
and by a frame  prevented any heat from  passing excepting through
the two bodies; beyond these he placed two pieces of metal with
phosphorous on them, and by comparing the time it took to fire
the phosphorous, he learnt the comparative freedom with Avhich
heat passed through the bodies experimented on. Through a piece
of rock  salt the  heat  passed with facility, but through glass it
scarcely passed at all.   Passing through the salt, it leaves it cold,
but being stopped  by the glass it makes it  hot, thereby proving 
84         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
that when as rays it is not hot, but  only Avhen stopped, and then
they lose their character as rays.   In^fhe same manner the rays
from a luminous body are not light, until stopped by a solid body.
If they were, the light from the sun should be seen passing through
space to the planets or to the moon, but they give  no light until
stopped by them, and therefore are invisible.
  "When reflectors are used Avith the sun's rays, of course, both
the light and heat are reflected.  Wood or paper held in the focus
of a large reflector, are immediately fired by the sun's heat.  The
course of the rays traveling from the reflector to its focus, is made
beautifully  evident by holding  a smoking piece of paper under-
neath.
   "  The rays of heat  passed  through a lense, are  conveyed in a
similar manner by refraction to  a focus, but in this case the focus
is on the opposite side to the source of heat.   With the action of a
burning-glass every one is familiar, but it will now be  seen that
the property of refracting to a centre does not depend upon the na-
ture of the  body, but upon its transparency and shape; for ice, if
melted in a hot tin mould until it is lense-shaped, acts equally well
with glass.  By it the sun's rays may be concentrated so as to burn
paper and  other combustibles,  and yet the ice  does not  become
melted.  This could not be done with common heat, for instance,
that from a fire, as ice will not allow its rays to pass, and stopping
them, becomes melted.   In  Melloni's  experiments  on this subject
he found that there were different kinds  of rays of heat, just the
same as there are different colored rays of light, and that these rays
were mixed in various  proportions according to the source from
whence  they emanated.   Thus some  will pass through  ice  and
salt, and not through glass.  The rays of heat from  the sun pass
through almost every substance, Avhilst those from a common fire
are stopped to a certain extent by almost every thing, and the sub-
stances themselves become heated.  That no heat is produced until
the rays are stopped, is seen by passing the sun's rays concentrated
by a lense through a glass tube filled with ether, when no effect is
produced; but put into it something which will stop the rays, such
as a piece of black paper, and the ether is seen to boil immediate-
ly.   The great  effects produced by concentrating the sun's rays
from a few feet on to one spot, gives a great idea of  the immense
quantity of  heat Avhich is continually being poured on this earth, 
             NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          85

and of the fearful effects were this heat Avithheld but for  one sea-
son.   These rays are not obstructed by the glass of the  window,
but allow it to pass on to carpets, &c, and  heat them, but were
they the same rays as from a fire, the effect would be very different.
  " The reception and  emission of heat, though depending princi-
pally  on the nature of the body, is found to be very greatly influ-
enced by the  state and  texture of the  surface.   Of two  radiating
bodies, for instance, tin canisters filled Avith hot water, one black-
ened or roughened on the surface will be found to get cold sooner
than that which is left  bright, one appearing like a good conductor,
the other like a bad one, though the only difference is in the state
of the surface ; or the experiment may be varied by black-Avashing
or white-washing only one side of the vessel; a thermometer will
then indicate more heat being given off from that side than from the
others.   In the same way the reception of heat is affected by sur-
face, those absorbing the best which radiate  the best.   The  appli-
cation of this principle to useful purposes  is carried out to a great
extent; for steam engines,  and boilers, which are required  to re-
tain the heat, are kept bright, whilst  those from which the heat is
required to be delivered, as in warming buildings by hot water
pipes, the surface is kept rough.  In  domestic economy the china
teapot is noAv superseded by polished metal, Avhich  is  found to
keep  the infusion hotter, and a difference even would be  found
whether a silver teapot were kept clean or dirty. Every substance
is continually radiating  heat  to  any other body near it  which is
colder than itself, and  ice, even, will  send out radiant heat to solid
carbonic acid.  The emissive power is not always  in proportion to
the amount of heat, for the  flame of a candle, though  consisting of
particles far hotter than a red-hot iron ball, does not radiate nearly
so much heat as  the latter.  The power of a bright reflective sur-
face to protect from radiant heat, is  well  shown by placing a slip
of gold leaf on a sheet of paper, and holding over it a  red-hot ball;
the uncovered paper is scorched, Avhilstthe thin metal, itself an ex-
cellent conductor, entirely protects the paper below.
   « It has, then, been shown that bodies  differ in their  power of
transmitting  heat, some, like rock salt, transmitting  it readily, or
being an  easy diathermal body, whilst others, such as alum, trans-
mit it but slightly, and that the rays of heat differ, depending upon
the source from which  they  emanate, for the facility with which 
86         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

they penetrate transparent media; thereby confirming the proba-
bility of the analogy that Melloni has drawn between the various
rays of light and those of heat."
  Electricity is also  explained by philosophers, on  the
hypothesis of an universal fluid, which, when in equilibrium,
produces no phenomena; but when the equilibrium is  dis-
turbed, by friction of the glass cylinder of an electric ma-
chine, or by other means, certain electric phenomena follow.
  Galvanic  Electricity is that which is  produced by
chemical action, and the apparatus commonly  used is called
a Galvanic  Battery.  It is  supposed that every chemical
change is accompanied with  a movement of electricity ; and
a Galvanic Battery is so contrived, as to cause the electro-
chemical motion of  etherium to take place in a circuit,
thus: Put into a glass vessel a piece of zinc and a  piece of
copper, so placed as not to  touch each other; pour some
water containing acid into the glass, so that the two metals
will be corroded, and there will immediately be a current of
electricity passing through the  liquid from the  zinc  to the
copper.  Now connect the copper with the zinc by means
of  wire, and  thus  constitute a circuit, and there will  be a
continual current from the zinc to the copper through the
water, and from  the copper  to the  zinc  through the wire.
This is a Galvanic Battery in its simplest form.  Any metals
may be used, provided one   corrodes more rapidly than the
 other ; even two pieces of the same metal will answer, pro-
 vided one piece is  hammered and the other porous, so that
 one shall be corroded more rapidly than the other.
    There is an important distinction between the quantity
 of electricity obtained, and its intensity.   That which is ob-
 tained from one pair of metallic plates, however large, is of
 very low intensity, so that it is easily insulated; and, how-
 ever great  the quantity may be, any number of wires  may
 lie side by side,  with nothing but a coating of varnish be-
 tween them, and each wire  may convey a separate current, 
           NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         87

while its nearest neighbor conveys an opposite current, with-
out any apparent interference.
  But when there is a great number of plates, even if they
are small ones, the current acquires such intensity that it
becomes difficult to isolate it, so as to prevent it from being
communicated to surrounding  bodies.
  I am inclined  to think, that the currents of human ethe-
rium are deficient, both in quantity and intensity, when com-
pared with that produced by the artificial apparatuses ;  and
this is one  reason why it does not  overcome its isolation
more  frequently.
  Thermo-Electricity is that which is brought into action
through the agency of heat.   This mode of producing elec-
tric currents was discovered by Professor  Seebeck, of Ber-
lin, in 1822.   He discovered that if two different kinds of
metal are  joined, and heated at the place of junction, a
current of electricity will flow from  one to the other ;  and
if the ends of the metals which are not joined are connected
by a wire, so as  to constitute a circuit, a current of electri-
city will pass around  the circuit, just as it does around the
Galvanic Battery.   The conclusion  is, that any thing which
can disturb the equilibrium of the great mass of etherium,
produces phenomena ; and these phenomena  have received
different names,  according to the modes in which the equi-
librium has been disturbed.
  Magnetism is but another  mode in which currents of
electricity are produced.
   Terrestrial Magnetism, which causes the compass needle
to point nearly north and south, is now found to be caused
by Thermo-Electric currents, produced by the heat of the
sun upon the continually revolving earth.   The most power-
ful  magnets are made by causing  a current of electricity
to pass along a wire which is wound spirally around a piece
of iron.  All  the phenomena of  magnetism are but modes 
88         NATURE OF  ETHERIUM.

in which electricity is manifested ; and all the phenomena
of electricity can be produced by heat.
  Gravitation has never been satisfactorily explained by
any hypothesis ; but the only attempts that have been made
to give even a conjectural explanation of it, have been based
upon the assumption of a universal fluid or etherium.   The
following is Newton's language upon the subject:
  " Is not  this medium (jether) much rarer within the dense
bodies of the sun, stars, planets and comets, than in the emp-
ty celestial spacers between them ?  And in passing from them
to greater distances, does it not grow denser and denser per-
petually, and thereby cause the gravity of those great bodies
towards one another, and  of their parts towards the bodies;
every body endeavoring to recede from  the denser parts of
the medium towards the rarer ?
   " For if this medium be supposed to  be rarer within the
sun's body than at its surface,  and  rarer there than at the
hundredth part of an inch from his body, and rarer there
than at the fiftieth part of an inch from his body, and  rarer
there than at the orb of Saturn, I see no reason why the in-
crease of density should stop anywhere, and not rather be
continued through all distances from the sun to Saturn and
beyond.
   " And though this  increase of  density may at great dis-
tances  be  exceeding slow;  yet if the elastic force of this
medium be exceeding great, it  may suffice to impel bodies
from the denser parts of the medium towards the rarer with
all that power which we  call  gravity.
   " And that the elastic  force of this medium is exceeding
great, may be gathered from the swiftness of its vibrations.
   " Light moves from the sun to us in about seven or eight
 minutes of time, which distance is about 70,000,000.
   "As magnetism is stronger in small  loadstones  than in
 great ones, in proportion to their bulk ; and gravity is stronger
 on  the surface of  small  planets than those of great ones, 
NATURE  OF ETHERIUM.         89
in proportion to their bulk ;  and small bodies are agitated
more  by electric attraction than  great ones; so the small-
ness of the rays of light may contribute very much to the
power of the object by which they are refracted ; and if any
one should  suppose that ether (like  our air) may contain
particles which endeavor to recede from one another, (for I
do not know what ether is,) and that  its particles are ex-
ceedingly smaller  than  those of  air, or even than those of
light, the exceeding smallness of  such particles may contri-
bute  to  the greatness of the force  by which they recede
from one another,  and thereby make that medium exceed-
ingly more rare and elastic than air,  and of consequence ex-
ceedingly less able to resist .the motions of projectiles, and
exceedingly more  able to press upon  gross bodies by en-
deavoring to expand therein."
  Admitting the doctrine of a universal Etherium to explain
gravitation,  (and I cannot see  how it can be avoided, what-
ever hypothesis be adopted,) Ave are furnished with a power-
ful  argument  in favor of the most marvelous  pretensions
of clairvoyance at a distance, and by this admission we are
estopped from denying the  possibility of clairvoyance from
any Avant of a medium sufficiently potent, or subtile, or ex-
tensive, or rapid in its movements ; for the force of gravity
is transmitted from planet to  planet with a degree of rapidity
which far surpasses all other motions .with which we are
acquainted.  In 1773, La Place " demonstrated that the at-
tractive  force of  gravity must be  transmitted  fifty million
times faster than  light, which  travels at  the  rate of two
hundred thousand miles in a second."  If, in addition to this
fact,  we  consider that all bodies, however  distant, or how-
ever  solid, are reached and penetrated  by gravitation—that
no  force can  impede it, no isolation can  exclude it, and no
other velocity can rival it, since it has been  demonstrated by
 the greatest  mathematicians, to  move as much  faster  than
 lightning, as lightning moves faster than a snail—I say, con-
                  5 
90         NATURE  OF ETHERIUM.
sidering all  this,  the  marvels of clairvoyance sink into a
comparatively common and insignificant affair.
  It seems to me much more reasonable to suppose that
there is but one universal Etherium, the different  motions
and combinations of which, Avith other and  grosser matter,
produce all  the  different  phenomena of gravitation, heat,
electricity, light,  animal  motions, &c, than  that  there
are several independent and distinct universal fluids operat-
ing through the Same space, at the same time, upon the same
bodies.  It maybe, that although there is but one Etherium,
that this one is compounded of different kinds of matter or
elements, each element possessing different properties pecu-
liar to itself, and that when the compound Etherium comes
into combination with some kinds of ponderable matter, it
becomes decomposed, one  element producing one  class of
effects, and another producing very different effects.
  Again, it may be that the universal  Etherium is simple
and  uncompounded, but that, Avhen it  comes into contact
with the ponderable materials of the earth,or  other planets,
it enters into combination with atoms of ponderable matter,
so exceedingly minute, that it is impossible, with our finite
powers  of perception  and invention, to detect them.  By
entering into these combinations, it may produce  different
classes  of effects, which  seem  to proceed from  different
fluids. By adopting this hypothesis, we can  understand why
one  modification  of  Etherium (light)  will readily  pass
through transparent substances, but not through those which
are opaque; while another modification  of Etherium (mag-
netism) will pass Avith equal facility  through both;  and
yet, by  a  certain process,  electricity may be changed  into
magnetism, or magnetism into electricity; and both maybe
made to produce light.  We can also understand why elec-
tricity, which will not pass through glass,  can  be  changed
to magnetism, or made to produce light, cither of which
will pass through without difficulty.  Again, light may be 
NATURE OF  ETHERIUM.         91
made to produce magnetism, and heat to produce electricity
and magnetism, while they both in turn produce heat; and,
finally, chemical combinations produce heat, light, electrici-
ty, magnetism, galvanism, attraction, vegetation,  digestion,
respiration, muscular motion and sensation, and numberless
other phenomena.
  It is  evident, from a review of all these facts, and many
others, with Avhich we are furnished by natural science, that
Ave  are at no  loss for analogical proof of  the reality of an
etherean agent in nature, capable of producing all the effects
ascribed to etheropathy or mesmerism.
  The Rev. Mr. ToAvnsend, in his elegant work, modestly
entitled, " Facts in Mesmerism," supports this doctrine with
his  usual felicity of expression. The ideas, however, which
I have suggested in this work concerning  credencive induc-
tion, do not seem to have  occurred  to him as a means  of
accounting for what  is commonly called " the effects of the
imagination.''''  He  also  inclines to the opinion that there
may be several different kinds of fluid or Etherium, but he
argues Avith so much ability in favor of the propriety of ad-
mitting an etherial mesmeric agent,  that perhaps I cannot
better  please  my readers than by a liberal adoption of his
language.
  " First, I affirm that, productive of the effects called mes-
meric, there is an action  of matter as distinct and specific as
that of light, heat, electricity, or  any other  of the impon-
derable agents, as they are called  ; that, when the mesmer-
izer influences his patient, he does this by a medium, either
known already in another guise, or  altogether new to our
experience.
  " What proofs, it will be asked,  can I bring forward of this
assertion ?   I  answer, such  proofs as are considered availa-
ble  in all cases where an impalpable imponderable medium
is to be considered; facts, namely, or certain appearances, 
 92         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

 which, bearing a  peculiar character,  irresistibly suggest a
 peculiar cause.
   " Let us take only one of these.
   "Standing at some yards distant from a person who is in
 the  mesmeric state (that person  being perfectly stationary,
 and with his back to me), I, by a slight motion of my hand
 (far too slight to be felt by the patient through any disturb-
 ance of the air),  draw  him  towards me as if I actually
 grasped him.
   " What is the chain of facts Avhich is here presented to me ?
 First, an action of my  mind, without  Avhich I could not
■ have moved my hand ; secondly, my hand's motion ; thirdly,
 motion produced in a body altogether  external to, and dis-
 tant from myself.  But it will at once be perceived that, in
 the chain of events as thus stated, there is  a deficient link.
 The communication between me and the distant body is not
 accounted for.  How could  an act of my   mind originate
 an effect so unusual ?
   " Why should  Ave refuse to mesmerism that Avhich Ave
 grant to magnetism ?  It is true that as yet  Ave have no bal-
 ance of torsion whereby the mesmeric force can be measur-
 ed ; but in the human body itself  we do possess an instru-
 ment whereby its presence may be ascertained ;  nor would
 it be reasonable to insist upon separate agencies being de-
 tected by the same test.   Why, then, but from the force of
 prejudice, should Ave call the mesmeric medium a gratui-
 tous assumption ? That such a medium exists is not a gra-
 tuitous assumption, but an unavoidable deduction of reason.
 But there is a class of persons who refuse to admit of any-
 thing which they cannot see, taste, or handle ; with such it
 is difficult to argue.  Should proofs by experiments be ex-
 hibited to them again and again,  they  still return to their
 cuckoo note, ' Show me the agent.'   One of these practi-
 cal men, as they are called, actually said to  me on one occa-
 sion, ' I never will believe that  what you   call mesmerism 
           NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          93

exists, unless you can put it  in a bottle, and submit it to
analysis."
  " To Avhat end, then, is reason given us, if not to judge of
things  invisible  by those which  are clearly seen ?  For
what purpose possess we the  irresistible propensity to sup-
ply deficient links in a chain of causation, if not to prompt
us where our senses fail ?  We  move a magnet over a
needle, the needle moves in  a corresponding manner ; and
the human mind is so constituted that we cannot behold
these two facts in seeming connection without uniting them
by a third, which we consider as proved  by them, since it is,
in truth,  their  necessary  consequence.  We infer that the
effect is produced by means of a magnetic current or medi-
um, a something whic h propagates motion from the magnet
to the needle.  This something we  cannot  indeed behold,
yet do we believe in it, and  with  justice ; for that which
reason perceives  to  be necessary is  not an  invention, and
can never be superfluous; on the contrary, the only immu-
table and essential truths come out of the mould of the in-
tuitive reason, which, as Coleridge observes, stops not at
'  this will be  so,' but at once decides,  ' This must be so.'
  " Now, in all  cases where motion is communicated from
one body to another,  the line of communication  must be
maintained unbroken.
  " The  first impulse gives motion to certain atoms, which in
their turn propel others, and so on, till the whole  series be-
tween the active body and the body which is to receive the
original impulse, is set in motion, and  then, at length, the
sequence of events is complete, and the body towards which
motion tended is set vibrating.  If the medium that propa-
gates the first  impulsion be undulatory and elastic, its atoms
only oscillate on  either side a fixed point  of rest ;  but if it be
composed of traveling atoms, there is an actual progression
of the medium.   In either case, motion is propagated by a
real action of matter till it reach its final destination.  This 
94         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
is the history of all communicated  motion, and  it is  plain
that this holds good, whether we  behold the collection of
atoms in a bodily shape, that transmits the motion, as in the
case of  one billiard ball propelling another, or whether we
behold them not, as in the case of  sound being communi-
cated to the ear from a vibrating body, by  means of the
intervening air.   I grant that the old maxim, « A body can-
not act  where  it is not,' is very properly exploded ; but for
it we must substitute another, namely, ' A body cannot act
where  it is not, save  by deputy  or transmissive means.'
Yet some have overlooked this truth ;  and in their zeal to
avoid theories, when they behold two sensible  actions evi-
dently dependent the one on  the other, and yet apparently
disjointed, fear to unite them properly, by suggesting the
presence of an unseen link, which, nevertheless, cannot but
occur between the visible  antecedent and the visible conse-
quent ;  for motion is not an entity that can go through void
spaces,  independently and alone ; it is merely a property,
which has no existence out of the subject that manifests it;
and, where matter fails, there motion fails also.  It is vain,
then, to hold such language, as  if it were possible for one
body to produce motion in another without something inter-
mediate, that is, miraculously and without means ;  yet your
good hater of theories  will even dare to blame  Newton for
having suggested an ether to account for that action which
one body produces  on another, and even, in many cases,
from vast distances, and Avhich we call attraction.   It is true,
that Newton  may be  wrong in the manner in Avhich he
manages his ether, and accounts for impulsion and reimpul-
sion by differences of dense  and rare; but  he cannot be
wrong in preserving  an unbroken series of atoms  between
separate bodies which manifestly influence each other__be-
tween the  sun and earth, for instance—since in this  case
there is mutual action and motion communicated from a dis-
tance.   Extending the principle, and perceiving  that all the 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          95
<
heavenly bodies were in mutual relationship, and the whole
celestial system harmoniously bound together, Newton sup-
posed his ether to be of universal action, and to fill and per-
vade  creation,  establishing a means of communication be-
tween all its several parts.   Were this allowed, there would
be but little difficulty in explaining mesmerism ; but a sub-
lime  divination of this kind is  too vast for the general un-
derstanding.   Accordingly, even  NeAvton's name has failed
to render the theory palatable, and men of small views have
dared to call even this suggestion of a mighty mind gratui-
tous, treating the author with a  levity which can only lessen
one's respect for the objectors.   Have these cavilers an in-
tellect superior to Newton's own ?  If they have, let them
give us something better than Newton's suggestion (better,
not only in their own  opinions, but in ours) respecting the
great problems of creation ;  some theory more solid and sub-
lime, to satisfy the cravings of humanity after pure and lofty
 generalization : till then, let them, at least by silence, acqui-
 esce  in Professor Playfair's beautifully expressed opinion of
 the queries : ' Such enlarged and comprehensive views, so
 many new and bold conceptions, were never before com-
 bined with the sobriety and caution of philosophical induc-
 tion.   The anticipation of future discoveries, the assemblage
 of so many facts from  the  most distant* regions of human
 research,  all brought to bear on  the same points and to elu-
 cidate  the same questions, are  never to be sufficiently ad-
 mired.'   In recalling this to the reader's mind, I trust that
 I seem not to stray from my subject, which is, in truth, so
 deeply implicated  in  the  truth or falsehood of Newton's
 principal  suggestions.   But I  might leave this great man's
 defence to time, which already  has 'brought in  its re-
 venges,'  science being even  now occupied in developing
  Newton's ideas, and in establishing as undoubted truths the
  greater part of all which he so modestly advanced as queries.
  Facts relative to the acceleration observed in the mean mo- 
96
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
tion  of comets have  demonstrated, to the  satisfaction of
men of science, the existence of a resisting medium, undu-
latory and elastic, Avhich pervades the known universe.
  " How frequently it has thus happened that the deductions
of the pure reason have triumphed over the cavils and hesi-
tations of the understanding which, being conversant with
matters of experience only, cannot step beyond the sensuous
and the known !   Kepler believed that the harmony of our
system required a planet betAveen Mars and Jupiter, and the
deficiency is now actually supplied by the discovery of the
four singular orbs Avhich seem once to have formed but one
single  body.   My  reader's  memory will doubtless supply
other instances where the philosopher,  in his  closet, has
outrun experiment, and has divined what future observation
has verified and facts confirmed.  When,  then,  we  find
Mesmer (who, whatever Avere his faults of conduct, was no
contemptible  thinker) suggesting a universal medium as
alone explanatory of  mesmeric  phenomena, let us, instead
of unwisely scoffing,  inquire whether  the circumstances of
the case  may not possibly render the  existence  of such a
medium a positive necessity, and a truth palpable to reason.
This at least we knoAv, that all science seems now  tending
to refer the apparently distinct  agencies of nature  to the
varied  operation of one medium ; to  establish, in  fine, an
ether such as Newton had  imagined, and such as Mesmer
perceived Avould satisfactorily  account  for  the  apparent
miracles  of his new science.
  " Now, whether mesmerism be a distinct medium, or only
the distinct effects  of a general medium,  widely manifested
in other offices, I will not take upon myself to decide.  We
no longer consider electricity, magnetism, even light itself,
to be separate and independent agents ; we call them effects.
And this  is  well, if we remember  to refer effects  to causes
and properties and qualities to real substances and subjects.
We must not turn all the goings-on of the world into mere 
            NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         97

abstractions.   Vibrations imply  a vibrating body; electric
motions or concussions,  something, that moves  or is con-
cussed.   It will, indeed,  greatly simplify our ideas to con-
sider all the various appearances of nature  as so many ac-
tions  of  matter, but  we must beware of supposing that,
where action  is present, matter can be absent.  I am very
willing, then, to call all mesmeric phenomena effects ; but I
not the less contend that  they must be  effects of something.
I am willing to consider  mesmerism itself as an action of
matter, yet still of matter.   I cannot tell whether,  in the
case of mesmeric agency, matter assumes the form of  a fluid
or a gas,  but I know and  am sure that material agency there
is.  This agency may be  only one of the modifications of a
substance which operates in other ways, or it may be the
single action of a  single substance.  But, in  fact, the pro-
bability is, that there are really various media  in nature,
the finer, Ave  may suppose, occupying  the  interstices of
the grosser, distinct yet interfused, Avheel within wheel, a
subtile mechanism.  Every one knows  that the atmosphere
is the  medium through  which  sound  is conveyed  to us.
A bell rung under  the exhausted receiver  of an air-pump
is inaudible; but the  crystal walls, that keep out air, bar
not the passage of light  and heat.  NeAvton's experiment
of this, and his consequent  reasoning  on the fact, appear
to me  conclusive.   He says,  (Qu. 18,) ' If in  two large,
tall, cylindrical vessels of glass,  inverted,  two little ther-
mometers be  suspended, so as  not to touch the vessels,
and the air be  drawn out of one of these vessels, and these
vessels, thus prepared, be carried out of a cold place  into a
warm one, the thermometer in vacuo will grow warm as
much and almost as soon as the thermometer which is not
in vacuo.   And, when the vessels are carried back into the
cold place, the thermometer in Aracuo will grow cold almost
as soon as the  other thermometer.   Is  not the heat  of the
warm room conveyed through the vacuum by the vibrations
                 5* 
98
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
of a much subtiler medium than air, which, after  the  air
was drawn out, remained in the vacuum '?  And is not this
medium the same with that medium  by which  light is  re-
fracted and reflected ?'
   " The conclusion Avhich such experiments force upon us is,
that there really exist in nature different media, related, yet
distinct.  If, therefore, I am understood literally instead of
figuratively when I speak  of  mesmerism as  an individual
agency, I shall not seem greatly to have violated the  anal-
ogies of nature.  This at least I  affirm, mesmerism  has its
own  peculiar action;  and  therefore, for  the sake of con-
venience, I shall denominate matter, as it is developed in
this particular way,, the mesmeric medium, a term  with,
which,  I trust,  none  of my. readers will be  disposed to
quarrel, the advantage and  propriety of referring one  class
of effects to one cause being manifest. We do this naturally
in all cases where distinction is required.   The imponder-
able fluids are still  characterized, pro forma, by individual
names,  though Ave believe that they may be children of one
parent.   From certain effects  we are allowed  to presume
the existence of a luminous medium.  I therefore, by parity
of reasoning, may be  allowed, from other effects, to infer
the existence of a mesmeric medium.
   " And, in truth, there is no agency which more manifestly
than this may claim to be distinctive, since it is developed
under quite  other circumstances;  and,  being developed,
presents quite  other phenomena  than  any material action
with which we have hitherto been acquainted.
   " It neither results from a union of gases nor from chemical
composition.  It is not developed by the  rubbing  of amber
or the juxtaposition of minerals.   It is elicited by certain
actions  of living nature alone.
  " Viewed merely as a physical agency, it originates a sleep,
sui generis, which pervades  the external organs, yet leaves
the intelligence  free : it  brings the nervous  system into a 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         99
state of exceeding sensibility, rendering it cognizant of influ-
ences by which at other times it is wholly unaffected.
  " Now Avhat is the medium we know not; and, therefore,
all that remains for us, in our ignorance, to do, is to gather
as much information concerning it as we can.  We cannot
analyze it in the same manner  as  light, or separate it into
its component parts, like the atmosphere ; but every agent
has its own elements, and, consequently, a method of anal-
ysis proper to itself.  This  is clear; in its mode of action
it can alone be made manifest; its sensible  action, there-
fore, is the legitimate sphere in which it may be studied;
 and, till we have all its facts and relations, Ave have only to
 observe its phenomena, and to state the results of our ob-
 servation as plainly as possible.
   " First, then, it is an agency Avhich has physical effects on
man.
  " That any one who has been conversant with even the
first symptoms  produced by mesmerism should  doubt the
physical and distinct character of the agency, seems impos-
sible.   However marvelous be the train of mental phenom-
ena consequent upon its operation, its primary  effects are
undoubtedly upon the body of the patient.  Those who are
neither under the predisposing influence of fear or of imagi-
nation ; who know not what they have to expect;  who,
perhaps, close their eyes from the beginning of the experi-
ment, all agree in feeling a weight upon the eyelids, accom-
panied by a slight pricking; then follows the sensation of a
cold current of air streaming  in the direction of the mes-
mcrizer's fingers, and of a torpor in the limbs, which gradu-
ally increases, until spontaneous motion becomes not only
 difficult, but impossible to the patient.
   " It has been asserted that, when the attention of mesmeric
 patients is  pre-occupied and diverted  from the mesmeric
 processes, or when the imagination has not been previously
 advised of an effect to follow, the agency is null. 
100        NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
  " This statement demands an examination the more serious,
inasmuch as it is one of those half-truths  which Coleridge
has denounced as fatal to true philosophy.
  " It must be  allowed that the mesmeric influence is to a
certain degree impeded, should it be essayed upon a person
who is determined to resist  it,  or  whose  mind is  actively
engaged upon other matters ; but does this, can this  prove
that the agency is null save  in the imagination of the pa-
tient ?   The only thing that it demonstrates with certainty is
that which every rational man who has at all studied the
subject must concede, namely, that the force employed  in
the mesmeric process is not sudden or violent in its action,
but of the  nature of those subtile influences which it requires
a certain  attention, and, indeed, education of the sensibili-
ty to  perceive.   A savage  has  been known to track his
prey, like  a dog, by the scent alone ; and in doing so, he
must, of necessity, fix all his attention upon the fine  exha-
lations whereby he  is guided.   But how  plainly  absurd  it
Avould be to affirm on that account  that there was no  actual
exciting cause of the sensations of  the  savage !   But, it  is
argued, the imagination must be forewarned  before the ef-
fects called mesmeric can  occur; and is not this sufficient
to refer them to the imitative power  of the imagination?  The
ansAver is not difficult.
  "Imagination, indeed, imitates, but then it must have some-
thing to imitate.  The very expression presupposes a model,
and gives real existence to the subject in debate.   Granting
that which, indeed,  I do not concede,  namely, that the ef-
fects of mesmerism can be proved without mesmerism, and
by the imagination solely, it by no  means follows that  cer-
tain effects have not at certain times been produced by mes-
merism, and by pure mesmerism.  That which is spurious
argues that which is true, and  many copies  of a picture
place the existence  of an original beyond a doubt.
  " Again: they who draw strong conclusions against mes- 
            NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.        101

merism by affirming  that it cannot take effect unless the
imagination be prepared to receive it, should remember that
they who, deeming they shall feel nothing under mesmerism,
and do actually feel nothing, are both forewarned  and fore-
armed against the influence in  debate; and are thus them-
selves under the predisposing  SAvay  of the imagination as
much as their opponents, only  in a different manner; the
one party believing they shall, the other that they shall not,
experience certain  effects.   Under these circumstances, how
the latter can pretend to a more accurate judgment on the
point  than the former, I confess I cannot  perceive.   ' Im-
agination  does  much,' say the  anti-mesmerists : granted ;
and let us have the full benefit of the principle. If imagina-
tion be so potent, it may also render insensible to mesmeric
influence those Avho are predetermined to feel nothing of it.
Yet more; the force of the mind to resist even  the most
powerful  influences  may  be easily shoAvn by facts to be
great, nay, incalculable.  In Lockhart's Life  of  Scott, an
anecdote proving this, is related by Scott himself, of one
of the Duke of Buccleugh's farmers.   ' His father had given
him a quantity of laudanum (writes Sir Walter)  instead of
some other medicine.  The mistake was instantly discover-
ed ; but  the young man had sufficient  energy  and force  of
mind to  combat  the operation of the  drug.  While all
around him were stupid with fear, he rose, saddled his horse,
and rode to  Selkirk (six or seven miles),  thus  saving  the
time  that the doctor must have taken in coming to him.  It
is very curious that his agony of mind was able to suspend
the operation of the drug until he had  alighted, Avhen it in-
 stantly began to operate.  He recovered perfectly.'
   " The degree to which a person may resist, yet still be in-
 fluenced  by, the mesmeric agency, Avhen preoccupied by
 some counteracting idea, was on one occasion demonstrated
 to me, and, as  it were, marked off and measured in an inter-
 esting manner. 
102        NATURE  OF ETHERIUM.

  "A friend of mine at Cambridge, who knew nothing what-
ever of animal magnetism  (as it  was, then called) but the
name, consented to let me  try an experiment upon him be-
fore  some  incredulous  persons, Avho had said they would
never believe  in the  agency until  they  saw it exhibited
upon some one who  did  not  even knoAV that he was  to
go to sleep.   It being  ascertained that  Mr.  H— (the sin-
cerest of all men) was really ignorant of even so much mes-
meric lore, I and my patient sat down in our proper relative
positions.  At the end of five minutes (though  it was the
unsleepy time of noon) Mr. H— began to close his eyes and
to nod, but soon started, rubbed his eyes, shook himself, and
Avent through all the usual formula of a person who wishes
to keep-awake.   This alternate nodding and arousing Avent
on for some time, when, tired at length of such unsatisfac-
tory results, I gave the matter  up  and quitted my chair.
The patient was then questioned as to what he had felt.
' Only very sleepy,' he  replied.   ' I experienced no elec-
tric  shock, nor anything of the kind, though I watched and
waited for it.'   ' But if you felt sleepy,  Avhy did you not
go to sleep?' asked some  one.   ' Oh,' answered Mr. H—,
' what would I- not have given to have gone to  sleep ?  but
I thought I must on no  account do this, as I was to  keep a
sharp look-out for  the  electric  shock!'   My reader may
smile at  this, but I  can assure him that the ignorance of my
friend respecting the effects of mesmerism is no measure  of
his information on other subjects:
   " It appears, then, that the only concession  we have  to
make to the anti-mesmerist is, that the mood of mind and
body. which  is  most favorable to  the  reception  of mes-
 meric influence is that which Wordsworth has characterized
 under the title of 'a wise passiveness.'    Hoav completely
 this refutes the arguments, or, rather, assumptions  of those
 who would resolve all mesmerism into imagination, is mani-
 fest.  But it is time that this question should be forever set 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.        103
at rest.  How such a cause as imagination could at any time
be assigned or accepted  as  explanatory of  mesmeric phe-
nomena is matter of wonder, and that it should be so dimin-
ishes one's respect for the sagacity of the human  species.
Here, indeed, is inefficient causation!  Here, truly, is gratui-
tous assumption !  I have  heard  of imagination  keeping
persons awake, but never of its setting them to sleep. This
busy  poAver holds no  possible alliance with mesmerism,
whose gentle influence,  like streams  that  are  only heard
when we listen for  them in the hush of night, must be at-
tended to Avith the  quiet patience of a peaceful spirit.
   " But the imagination theory is really too absurd to merit a
serious refutation.*
   " A thousand times I have seen mesmeric patients placed
under circumstances  where the action of imagination  Avas
plainly impossible.    In proof of this I have  only to refer to
 the preceding books of this  work.   Persons, it will there be
 seen, have been throAvn into the mesmeric state when asleep,
 and wholly unadvised of any experiment to be  tried upon
 them.   They  have  been drawn toAvards  the  mesmerizer
 from a distance, Avhen  standing with their backs to him ;
 they have manifested phenomena coinciding with those dis-
 played by other mesmeric patients at different times and  at
 different places, and  which could not have resulted from im-
 itation, since the patients themselves, not knoAving a previ-
  ous_ type, Avere plainly incapable of producing a copy.
  "  "Surely  facts like these imperatively call upon ustoac-
  knoAvledge  an agency, which we  may call mesmeric  or
  what we please, so long as we confound it not  with imagi-
  nation, imitation, el  hoc genus omne  of inefficient  and  inap-
  plicable causes.
    " Experience of the past should teach us not to despair of
  seeing the statics  and dynamics of the mesmeric force plain-

    * I would refer my  reader to the article in this work on Creden-
  civeness to find an explanation of the nature of imagination. 
104        NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

ly laid down.  Who, in the early periods of science, would
have ventured to predict the invention of a balance whereby
the magnetic action could be  reduced  to aveight and  mea-
sure ?  Look at the history of magnetical discoveries ! What
patience, what erroneous guesses, what feeble daAvnings of
truth, what lessons of hope are there !   The  knoAvledge of
magnetical effect is as old, at least, as the era of Homer, by
whom they are distinctly referred to ;  but  it is less- than a
century ago* that Mitchell established the true law of mag-
netic  action, and mesmerism has  not yet  completed its
seventieth year: a measure of  existence which the Psalmist
has assigned as the period of one man's life !   Is this a suf-
ficient space for the development of a subject the most fer-
tile and the most vast, because the most intimately connect-
ed with man ?
   " This, at least, even in the  present state of mesmeric
science, may be affirmed, that,  considered as a force, the
agency betrays no slight indications of  its  affinity with me-
chanical powers, and that certain circumstances regarding it
bring  to us nearly a full conviction that its effects are depend-
ent on a certain invariable proportion between the mesmeric
force of the individual who dispenses, and that of him who
submits to receive the  influence.t   What that proportion
is, once ascertained, (and Iioav can this be but by repeated
observation ?) would reduce mesmerism to a law and to a
certainty.  Its mental and remedial  effects will indeed ne-
cessarily always continue to be varied according to the char-
acter  and temperament of its patients, but its purely  phy-
sical agency might be  brought  within conditions  perhaps
narrower and more simple than we can  now conceive. Sup-
posing (as some now deem) the vital action to be electric,
that which is called a man's nervous force or constitution

  * In 175Q.
  t By referring to my remarks on Isolation,  it will be seen why the
more powerful cannot always affect  the weaker. 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.        105
would depend on the possession of a certain original measure
of the  electric fluid.   Were this found to be the case, (my
idea may raise a smile,) a neurometer, or instrument to as-
certain the power of a  person, might give to mesmerism the
precision Avhich science requires.  Who would have thought
at one time a measure  of magnetism possible ?
   " My suggestion may be deemed absurd, but this will not
alter the facts of mesmerism.   At  present, we are  only ac-
quainted Avith the general result, and not with the  elements
that compose it; but this is no more a proof that is  not com-
posed of  elements, than the ancient  ignorance what water
was could have demonstrated  that it was not composed  of
tAvo airs in certain proportions.
   " Our knoAvledge that the Avill acts, yet our ignorance how
it acts,  on matter, should  prepare us to receive, without a
dogmatic  denial at least, proofs of an extension in  its  capa-
cities and its sphere. If, in some mysterious way,  I actuate
another, it is scarcely more wonderful than that  I actuate
myself.   It is true that the latter comes within the  range
of my every-day experience ; but can I any  more  compre-
hend it ?
   " Hoav great a force the will either has or wields, may
be almost measured off to our senses  in a very  simple but
striking manner.
   " Let tAvo covered vessels precisely  alike, the  one empty,
the other full of some  heavy substance, such as  leaden bul-
lets, be placed before  a person.  Let him first  lift the full
 vessel, and let him then be told to raise the empty one, with
 an understanding  that it is of equal  weight with the first.
 The person doing  this will put into action so much unne-
 cessary force, from the expectation of being about to  lift a
 great  Aveight, that his baffled vigor  will,  in its  reaction,
 cause quite a painful concussion in the muscles  of the arm.
 Noav could that force, which, as it Avere, returns upon him-
 self, be directed  outward, it is plain that it might  produce a 
106        NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

very powerful and peculiar action in the media wherewith
we are surrounded.   And wherefore not directed outward ?
This, at least, we know, that  the will is really the primary
agent Avhich  enables us to  move  all bodies foreign to  and
apart from ourselves. In these cases, indeed, it acts through
intermediate agencies Avhich are visible to us.  But there is
nothing Avhatever to render it impossible that the mind should
act sometimes by unseen, yet even more potent intermedi-
aries than the accustomed.  After all, what astonishes us in
mesmerism  is not that the mind is shoAvn capable of produ-
cing motion, but that it is exhibited producing motion  in a
different way, as we conceive,from that with which  our ex-
 perience is  familiar.   That  the  mind  should originate a
series of motions of which Ave cannot behold certain of the
intervening links (I speak of  cases in which the mesmeriser
influence his patient from a distance), this is the true ground
 of our wonder and incredulity.  Yet, in fact, the very same
 thing occurs in our commonest experience.  When I move
 one of my fingers, I am only acquainted Avith the first fact
 and the last in a sequence of events, the intermediate cir-
 cumstances of which  are hidden from my knowledge, and
 which are, probably, very numerous.  Some of the hidden
 links in the series, I know from  reason.   From the anato-
 mist, I learn that my  mind, in  the first instance, moves a
 portion of my brain (for certain injuries to the brain render
 voluntary  motion impossible) ;  that this, again, communi-
 cates an impnlse to a nerve (for, cut the nerve, and the im-
 pulse reaches not the muscle) ; that then, again, a muscle is
 moved, and finally the finger.  The simplest voluntary mo-
 tion, then, is but an impulse, originating with mind in the
 first place, and thence transferred through a series of atoms.
 There  is a sequence of changes, nothing  more ; some of
 which are known to  us, others not.  There is (to  use the
 language of Locke) but one>eal action, yet many passions
 or  communicated motions.   And  Avhat is  mesmerism but 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.        107
this ?   The same definition suits motion, whether produced
mesmerically or normally.   The same circumstances attend
both.   Again, even should Ave  pursue motion beyond the
limits of our own bodies, we shall find that there are invisible
links in all the impulsions Avhich we communicate to matter.
The philosopher knows that we are not in real contact Avith
anything Avhich Ave appear to  touch ; that there is always
something invisible between  us and the object  that  we
handle.
   " Again : do I not, by every  motion of my body, change
the relative position of the atoms of the media that surround
me ?   Do I not displace the air, cause various motions in the
Avaves of light, and influence  nature to a distance around
me which it  were  vain  to  attempt to  calculate ?   The
wonder, then, seems to be, not that the  mind should pro-
 duce changes  in surrounding objects, but  that, being itself
 'the  fountain-head of  motion,' it should not move matter
 more forcibly and  generally.  Doubtless it would be so had
 not the all-wise Ruler of creation confined the human mind
 within necessary limits.  Could the will sway the material
 as it does the  immaterial  world, what  bounds would there
 be to the tyrant's  caprice,  to the conqueror's ambition?
 Mountains would crumble as a dream, and oceans be dried
 up at our bidding.  A Napoleon would ' make a sop of all
 the solid globe.'  These ideas are  not so extravagant as his
 who doubts the power of the  human will.   By that alone
 Ave do great things ; by that alone we conquer kingdoms or
 ourselves; by that alone we achieve the hourly miracle of
 moving matter, united with,  or extraneous to ourselves.   Is
 the will, then, a nullity, Avhose influence is to be excluded
 from our consideration when we treat on any subject which
  nearly concerns man ?
    " In the chain of our argument, then, there appears to be
  nb link wanting.   It  is  thus  connected.    Every thought
  moves the brain  in its own appropriate manner. 
"1
 108        NATURE  O'F  ETHERIUM.

   " A pervading medium being allowed to exist throughout
 nature (such  as the electric), it follows as a consequence
 that every thought Avhich moves the  brain imparts motion
 also to the ethereal medium.
   " Mesmerized persons, being in astate of extreme sensibil-
ity, are cognizant of the motions of finer media than com-
 mon.
   "The  motions created by the thoughts of other persons be-
 ing transferred through the  brain, and through a certain me-
 dium  to the sensorium  of a mesmerized person, are to him
 intelligible signs of thought: a language which, though neAV
 to him at first, he, by a gradual process of association, gives
 meaning  to and learns  to comprehend.
   " They who watch for my halting, and are on the look-out
 for discrepancies, may  here remind me that I  have in other
 places advanced facts which are at variance with  the sup-
position  of  a  vibratory medium in  mesmerism, and which
rather tend to  establish the existence  of a material  emana-
 tion, of which the mesmerizer's body is the original source.
 Contact,  the breath, motions of the hand near the patient,
 have  been described as  powerfully aiding  the transmission
 of the mesmeric influence.    To this I reply  that it is now
very generally admitted  that  heat  is but a modification of
the same agent which  produces the  sensation of light;" in
other words, no real entity, but a peculiar action of matter.
Thus  to heat a body is only to bring the atoms which com-
pose that body into a particular state of vibration.   Yet, in
order  to  effect this, in  order  to induce that peculiar  action
of matter which we  call heat, we  employ  certain means,
which, being themselves material, tend to  invest the agent
with a material character, but which are in reality only the
occasions of bringing certain atoms into a particular state.
  "It may well, then,  be allowed, by those,  at least, who
adopt the undulatory theory, that the material means em-
ployed in mesmerism to charge a patient with the mesmeric 
            'NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         109

influence are no proof whatever of the material character of
that influence,  but  are simply methods whereby a medium
may be  thrown  into that particular state of  action.*  That
  * In contrast with my own views, as well as those of Mr. Townsend
and every other author who  has written upon this subject, I will, in
justice to the Rev. La Roy Sunderland, give the principal arguments
which he advances in opposition to the doctrine of a fluid.  It should
be understood, that  he claims to have been the^first  to discover that
the organs of the brain can be excited by touching them, although he
denies that it is done by the agency of a  fluid.  Without discussing
that subject in this place, I will merely say that I deny that he or any
one else has made such a discovery, and I refer for further particulars
on this point, to another part of this work.  But concerning a fluid,
Mr. S. in his work entitled  " Pathetism,"  says:

  "What we Avish  to ascertain,  is, whether the  brain or nervous
system eliminates  a fluid, which  is received into the system of the
subject, who is affected by pathetism ?  When the fingers are applied
to the cerebral organs, and the subject manifests any given emotion, is
that emotion excited by the reception of a nervous substance from the
hand of the operator ?  Or when one operates upon another, (as it is
said,) by his Avill, merely, is  there in this case, a transmission of any
fluid or  substance from the  nerves of the operator, into the nerves of
the patient ?
  " The following  are some  of the  reasons which incline me to  the
negative  of this question :—
  " 1. The results produced  without any physical contact, and with-
out any effort of the will.
  " It is susceptible of the clearest demonstration, that sleep, for in-
stance, may be  induced without any physical  contact, or any mental
effort of the will of another, whatever.  And so of many of the results
already described in  the preceding chapter.  To suppose the trans-
mission of a fluid in the case of the wooden tractors, or in the case of
the non-magnetised tree of Mesmer, is perfectly preposterous.   When
the patient touched a tree that had  not been magnetised, he was seized
with convulsions ; but when  he came in contact with  the tree upon
which the operator  assumed  to have thrown  the magnetic fluid, he
was not affected at all! No Avonder the French commissioners put the
seal of their condemnation  upon Mesmer's theory.
  " But, that  persons often sink into a state of real somnipathy, with-
out any influence from physical contact or the will of another, is a
matter of certainty.   I have known persons to fall into this state, par-
tially, who had never been pathetised, merely by seeing me operate on
another;  and, times without  number, have  I had my patients fall into
thisstate,when they have been in the same room, or in the same dwelling
where they knew I was operating upon others, when I  had no volition
at all upon the subject.  Only the present week, a patient on whom I 
110         NATURE  OF   ETHERIUM.
there is no just reason why that action should not be vibra-
tory is  also manifest.
had  not  operated for more than  six  months, happened  to be present
while  I  was pathetising another;  and though  she was  decidedly
opposed  to going  to sleep herself, and though I  did  not wish her to
fall into this state,  yet she did so.   And what was remarkable, when
asleep, she refused  to let me touch her for the purpose of Avaking her up;
and after remaining in this state all night, she remembered nothing of
what had happened, on waking up the next morning.   Her opposition
to being  pathetised arose  from her dread of ridicule ; but we see from
this case how it is, that the mind of a person overcomes the suscepti-
bility, and induces sleep, without any will  on the part of another,
and indeed, in some cases, even against the wishes cf the patient him-
self.
   " But  I may be  referred to cases like the following:—the patient is
blindfolded, and the operator merely brings his fingers within an inch
or so of any particular organ, and its function is excited.  Or, the  pa-
tient places his finger near any given organ in the head of another,
and his own mind  becomes affected.
   " To this I answer:
   " (1.)  If the excitement  of the separate organs is caused by the
actual transmission of a fluid, the results should always be  the same;
that is, the emotions excited in one subject should  be the same as those
excited from precisely the same place  in the head of another.  But
this  is  not the case; for  though  the  cerebral  organs  may be excited
without  contact, in some subjects, yet the  same feelings  are  not
always-excited from the same  locations, in different heads.  These
discrepancies can be accounted for, only, by  the laws of sympathy be-
fore  described.
   " (2.)  Exciting  the cerebral organs without contact, no more proves
the transmission of a fluid, than the relief of pain, or sleep, induced
without  contact.
   "  (3.)  The cases in which the cerebral organs can be controlled by
pathetism, to any considerable degree, are very few ; and hence, it is
hardly safe to deduce a general law from these few cases.
   " (4.)  Among the subjects susceptible of cerebral excitement, by
manipulation, the number is fewer still whose organs can be controlled
without  any contact; and the world over, perhaps, not one individual
was  ever found, in whom each of the organs could be  excited without
contact.   But, if one organ may be  excited in this way, and if there be
an actual transmission of a  fluid into the brain of the  subject,  it is
plain, that we  should be able to excite one  organ as well as another.
But this  is not, by  any means, the case.
   " 2.  Effects produced on  idiots and infants.
   "Every operator must have noticed, how  much more difficult it is
to affect  infants and idiots, than  it  is adults,  and persons in whom the
cerebral  organs are fully  developed.  But, if a fluid be actually trans-
mitted, why should it  not be received  with equal readiness into the
heads of idiots and children ?—Infants, who  have all  the or°ans, pro-
portionably large, are not (other  things being equal,) so casify affected 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         Ill
  " Pursuing the analogy between  heat and the mesmeric
agency, we know that, with regard  to exciting  the former,


as adults.   Nor, indeed, am I aware that  there has ever been an in-
stance, where the cerebral organs have been separately excited in in-
fants.   But why not ?   Why should not  the  ringer of the operator
transmit the neuraura to the organ of Benevolence or Self-Esteem, in
a brain  six months old, as easily as into one twenty-five  or thirty
years ?  The true reason is, these effects,  in many cases, depend much
upon the mental apprehensions of the subject, as I have already stated
in the preceding theory.
  " 3.  The different results from the same locations, and the same
results from different locations.
  " For instance: in one subject Combativeness is excited by touch-
ing the 'bridge of the nose,'  so called;  in another, by touching the
muscles in the under lip ; in another, by touching the scapula; and in
another, by touching one of the fingers  ot teeth ?  Can any one, in
his senses, believe these results to be produced by the transmission of
a fluid ?
  " But, to get  rid of  this difficulty, an  advocate cf the fluid theory
tells us, that in these cases the patient  is under the control of the
operator's wil,l., and, therefore, these results are  not to be depended
upon !  Just as  much  as the man who makes this  objection, and no
more.   I  have  operated on hundreds, and, I  may say, thousands of
cases, where I  know that  the'subjects were  no  more  under the in-
fluence  of my will, in the sense above supposed, than any other person
whom I  never saw.  I have put them to sleep by my will, as  it is
called, and without it—I have examined this agency in every imagina-
ble aspect, and tested  it in every conceivable manner possible, and
affirm what I know, when I  say, that I have  induced  these  different
results from persons who were not asleep, and from others who Avere,
and yet, they were not caused  or modified by my will, in the  least
conceivable degree.  The  inference, to my own mind, is irresistible,
that the notion oil fluid transmitted from the operator to the subject,
is utterly unfounded.
   "How could  a subject  be influenced  by my will, when I had no
will about the  result, as to what it should or would be ?  The  truth
is,  many operators have-unquestionably,been most egregiously deceived
as to many things they have attributed to their own wills. How the sus-
ceptibility is controlled by the will, and how the will and the suscepti-
bility reciprocally act upon each  other, I have already shown.  But, to
assume that, when I touch the same organs in three different subjects,
and they every one manifest a different  result, one must be more in
love with  theories that I desire to be, to believe  that  the results are
either caused by the transmission of a fluid, or that they are  the results
of my own volitions, when I know that I  exerted  no will in the  cases
at all, and the patients were no rore controlled by my will  than the
 chairs on which they sat.
   "4. The immediate agencies  for affecting the mind, must, in all
cases, be the same.                                        .
   " Titillation of the feet or side*? excites the organs of  mirth,  is 
112         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
the means are not only various, but that they may be alter-
ed according  to circumstances.   Occasionally they may ap-
    there, in such cases, a fluid transmitted ?  And what is the difference
    between the agency by which mirth is  excited, either by tickling the
    soles of the feet, or by applying  the fingers to the organs of  mirth in
    the head ?  A tread upon a gouty toe, not unfrequently excites the
    organ of Combativeness.  Is there a fluid transmitted in such cases .'
      " How often ^do we feel our Hope, Faith, Courage, Devotion, Love
    and Benevolence excited, by what we hear said in a public assembly;
    and in this way, thousands of organs are  all excited at the same mo-
    ment.   Is  there a fluid  transmitted in  such cases?   Who can be-
    lieve it ?
      ," But I might ask, what excites emotion in any case ?   What is the
    immediate agency which excites feeling of  any kind ?  If it be by a
    fluid eliminated in one case, wThy not in all?  and if the hand transmits
    this nervous  current or fluid, on applying it to the head, how is it to
    be  rationally accounted for, that this fact was never discovered before
    the nineteenth century ?   How has  it come to  pass,  that among
    the millions of  millions who  have  had their  hands  upon each
    other's cerebral organs, since the world began, not one of them ever
    received this fluid in any perceptible  degree, before  the year 1811 .'
    Really, to swallow such an assumption, one needs an organ of Marvel-
    ousness, to say the least, much larger than the one possessed by the
i    writer of these pages.
      " The truth of the case is, most who have ever manifested any interest
    in the investigation of this subject, under whatever name it has been
    presented, have taken it for granted, all  along, that  there must be a
    magnetic or  nervous fluid  actually transmitted in order to produce
    these results, because those Avho have gone before have said so.  And
    thinking of no other wray for solving all the phenomena which followed
    the process of manipulation, Ave have readily adopted the crude notions
    of  others.  And this is the more remarkable, when Ave examine the
    results of the wooden tractors, together with  the history of Mcsmer'3
    operations, and observe what  an abundance of facts they present,
    which go directly to annihilate the  fluid theory."

      My readers may be curious to know by what theory Mr. Sunderland
    proposes to account for the facts without admitting an etherium or fluid,,
    I must confess that, after reading his work carefully, I find it impossi-
    ble to understand his  theory, or  if I do understand it, I beg leave to
    say, without intending any disrespect,  that it is  perfectly absurd.
    He  seems to resolve the whole matter into a metaphysical abstraction,
    too  refined for ordinary comprehension, and infinitely more subtile than
    the fluid which he denounces.   But let the  reader  jud°-e by the fol-
    lowing extract, which embodies his views on  this point:

      "It will have been  seen, that by what I denominate pathetism,  is
    meant susceptibility to the influence of an agency which is concerned 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.          H3
pear  very complex, as  Avhere chemistry  employs  its  re-

sources to develop heat by the union of two liquids or gases ;

and occasionally nothing  can be more simple, as where, by


in every feeling or emotion, or passion, or action which Avas ever felt,
or put forth by any human being.  It has to do with the laws  of ani-
mal life—with nervous susceptibility to pleasure or to pain. Without
it, man is a lifeless body of matter.  All the feelings therefore which
one human being may be able to excite in the mind of another, whether
pleasurable or otherwise, all  the influence he is enabled to exert over
mind, are identical with this same agency.  If they be from the mate-
ria medica, received into the stomach, or agencies  applied to the sur-
face of the body, their effects depend upon a susceptibility, peculiar
to the living  body.  Or, if impressions be  made upon the sensorium
through the eye or ear, or through the  nerves of sensation, the imme-
diate  agency which carries those impressions to the mind is pathetism.
It is heard in the tones of the voice—it is seen in the look of the eye,
and the features of the face; and in its  effects thus produced, nothing
is thought of it,  because these are common  and always before the
mind.  But when precisely the same thing, is  felt from the touch of
the human hand, those not familiar with the true philosophy of mind
start back and tell us this cannot be !   But  why not ?   What has been
known, or what  is now known of the  human  system, which proves
that the same influence  may not be communicated  to one, from the
touch of the hand, which at other times reaches the soul through the
eye, or ear ?  Or, who has been able to tell how it is that an impression
is made upon the mind  through the ear 1   What is there in sound to
affect mind ?  Or, when the rays of light strike upon the optic nerves,
what makes the intellect take cognizance  of the image  which they
make there ?  In a word, how is it that what we call mind is im-
pressed by natural agencies,  in any way ?   Can matter  control spirit ?
   " And pressing these  inquiries thus  far,  I might ask an objector to
tell the difference between matter and spirit—What is an element ?
What are the laws by which mind and matter reciprocally affect each
other ?  What is life ?  What is disease and death ?
   " Do you say that we know nothing of these first principles ? that we
are in the dark as to the laws which operate  in producing the most
common occurrences of life ?  Then it must not, it will not be denied
but that there are other things as mysterious and unaccountable, as
the wonders of phrenopathy or clairvoyance.   When I place my hand
upon the head of another, and he manifests a feeling of sadness or joy;
when by the same simple process, I cause  him to weep or  to sing,
laugh or to pray, to rave with madness or to soar in ecstasies  of plea-
surable emotions, is there any more real  mystery in  the agency by
which these things are done, than when one is made to weep by merely
looking upon a scene of suffering; or when he is induced to sing from
the influence of certain sounds which break upon the ear ?
   « And thus of mental perceptions, when the external senses are closed.
 It is  not uncommon for persons to have  more vivid and imPres^r
 views of objects in their natural sleep, than they ever  had  in their

                  6. 
114         NATURE   OF  ETHERIUM.
mere  friction, Ave  produce heat.   This should  warn us not
to  be surprised that  mesmeric results should accrue  from

different processes, simple as well as complex ;  that at one


waking state.  The system being composed and  all the faculties at
rest, except the one or two whose excitement  constitutes the dream-
ing, the energies of the whole seem to be concentrated upon those or-
gans, and an impression is thus made more powerful  than any which
could be produced when all the organs are in a state of general wake-
fulness.  The phenomenon of dreaming is common,  and therefore
excites no surprise.   But when one is put into a state of sleep by arti-
ficial means, and in that state  he  is found to see with  his eyes fast
closed, and to have perceptions of distant objects, the phenomenon is
new, and we cannot admit it.
  " If we take two pieces of smooth soft iron, and put them in contact,
we do  not see that one has any influence upon the  other;  but  if we
rub one piece upon the other, in one direction only, for a length of
time, we perceive that by  this process,  we have established such a
relation  between the two, that they mutually attract each other.  And
yet we cannot detect any substance in either of them which was not
there before ; nor do we see that a fluid of any kind is  actually com-
municated by one and received by the other.  All we know about this
 {ihenomenon  is, that by a certain  process, a relation  has been estab-
 ished between those two pieces of iron, which causes  them to stick
together  in this manner.   What that relation is we do not know.  It
would seem, however, that this process had actually produced  a  dffer-
ence in the qualities of iron ;  for before they were passed upon each
other in the way I have stated, they were precisely alike in quality;
for on applying either of them to either  pole of  an ordinary magnet,
they affected it exactly alike.  But, not so, after they have been rubbed
together, as above ; for after this process, one of them will be found to
possess north polarity, and the other south; thus  proving that though
they were  precisely  alike in quality  before,  yet, this  process has
changed  the quantity of both, and rendered them susceptible of attrac-
tion or repulsion.
  " By all persons who have heretofore written on this  subject, it has
been assumed, as a matter of intuition, that what I denominate pathe-
tism, or  the 'human influence,' is conveyed from one system  to
another by the nerves of sensation, or motion, or both.   Hence it has
been called the ' nervous fluid,' ' nueraura,' &c.  But no one of these
theorists  have ever been able to tell which class of the nerves, convey
or receive  this influence.  Are they the nerves of  sensation ?  We
have already seen that the process of pathetising most generally sus-
pends the function of these nerves entirely.   Are they the  nerves  of
motion ?  This process usually suspends the power of locomotion, and,
indeed, all voluntary muscular motion throughout the  system.  Hence
the conclusion  is  inevitable, that a  distinct class of organs or
nerves exist,  constituting a part of the medullary matter, probably,
whose functions are purely  sympathetic.   This accounts for the
effects of pathetism, and shows how it is that sensations are conveyed 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         115
time the mesmerizer should employ all the intermediate aids
of gesture, look and  respiration, yet at another, with equal
success, influence his patient by the mere action of his mind
and brain."
   Animal electricity.—In  order still further to  exhibit
the analogy between electricity and the agent which pro-
duces  animal  motions and  etheropathic phenomena, I will
give a few instances  of the application of electricity to the
bodies of animals and men.   I  do not wish to be understood
as insisting that animal and human motions are produced
by electricity, but  that  they  are  produced  by  a power
which bears a very close resemblance to it in every essential
quality.    I consider the  effects of human Etherium, mag-
from the pathetiser to his somnipathist, without contact, and when the
latter is wholly insensible to pain from violence done to the nerves of
sensation.  By this process the function is suspended, and at the same
time, the subject may be made to suffer more from mere sympathy
with the operator than he would from violence  to his  own system.
All the sympathetic nervous- sensibilities are heightened  to  an extra-
ordinary degree, while the functions of the  other  nerves are partially
or wholly suspended.
  "The susceptibility of different persons depends upon the develop-
ments of the  ganglionic, or sympathetic system, which unites  the
mind, and the nerves of sensation and motion.
  " The mind, and this susceptibility, or the sympathetic system, re-
ciprocally act upon each  other.  The latter is' the medium through
which the emotions and volitions of mind are manifested, and through
the same medium all its impressions are received.
  " By establishing a positive relation between two persons, the mind
of one may thereby control the susceptibility of the other;  or by ap-
plying the hand of one to any part of the other, different mental  and
physical changes, may thus be  produced.  Hence it follows, that the
only influence extended from one mind or  body  to another, depends
upon the kind of relation established between them, and the same is
true, with regard  to any influence felt by the living body, from any
other cause.
  "It is a universal law of nature, that positive results are  produced
by a relation  between an agent, and a subject, or two or  more sub-
stances, brought into relation with each other.  It is only by estab-
lishing a connection between  two things or  forms which  differ in
quality, that  a positive  result  differing  in  quality from either of the
two is produced.   This is the first law of Pathetism, and from which
we see how it is, that one may  not be able to produce the same effects
upon different persons." 
116        NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.

netic Etherium,  and  caloric  Etherium,  as  but  modified
motions of one and the same substance, just as the different
colors of  light are but  modified motions of one  substance ;
and  as  the different kinds  of heat, recognized by Prof.
Faraday, are but  modifications of  one general principle  of
caloric.
   I have no doubt that there are many different motions  or
modifications  of human  Etherium ;  indeed, reasoning from
analogy, there must be.  It would also seem that those pond-
erable substances which  are conductors of one kind of ethe-
rean motion are non-conductors  or isolators  of some other
kinds.   The whole subject  is rich in  material  for  philoso-
phical inquiry and reflection.  The  following extracts  will
serve to illustrate these  views :

Extract of a letter to the London Electrical Society, from Andrew
   Crosse, Esq., published in Silliman's Journal, Vol. XXXV. No. 1.
   " Electricity is no longer  the  paltry confined science which it
was once fancied to be, making its appearance only from  the fric-
tion of glass or wax, employed in childish  purposes, serving as a
trick for the school-boy, or a nostrum  for the quack.  But it  is,
even now, though in its infancy, proved to be most intimately con-
nected with all operations in chemistry, with magnetism,  with
light and color; apparently  a property belonging  to all matter,
perhaps ranging through all  space, from sun  to sun, from planet
to planet; and not improbably the secondary cause  of every change
in the animal,  mineral, vegetable and gaseous systems.  It  is to
determine, to ascertain Avhat rank in the tree of science electricity
is to hold; to endeavor to find out to what useful purposes it might
be applied, that I conceive is the object of your  Society ; and I  shall
at all times be ready and Avilling, as a member, to contribute my
quota of information to  its support, knowing well, that however
little it might be, it Avill be as kindly received as it is humbly offer-
ed.  It is most unpleasing  to  my feelings to glance at myself as an
individual, but  I have met Avith so  much virulence and abuse, so
much calumny  and misrepresentation, in consequence of the ex-
periments Avhich I  am about to detail, and Avhich it seems, in this 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         117
nineteenth century, a crime to have made, that I must state, not for
the sake of myself, (for I utterly scorn all  such misrepresentations,)
but for the sake of truth and the science which I follow, that I
am neither  an ' atheist,' nor a ' materialist,'  nor a ' self-imagined
creator ;' but a humble and lowly reverencer of that Great Being,
whose laws my accusers seem to have lost sight of.   More  than
this, it is my conviction, that science is only  a means to a greater
end.
   " I reduced a piece of black flint to poAvder, having first exposed
it  to a red heat, and  quenched it in water to make it friable.  Of
this powder I took  two ounces, and mixed  them  intensely with
six ounces of carbonate of potassa, exposed them to a strong heat
for fifteen minutes, in a black lead crucible, in  an air furnace, and
then poured the  fused compound on  an iron plate, reduced it to.
powder while still warm, poured boiling water on it, and kept it
boiling for some minutes in a sand-bath.  The  greater part of the
soluble glass thus fused, was taken up by the water, together with
a  portion of alumina from the crucible.  I should have used one of
silver, but had none sufficiently  large.  To a portion of the silicate
of potassa  thus  fused, I added  some boiling water to dilute, and
then slowly added hydrochloric  acid to supersaturation. A strange
remark was made on this part of the  experiment, at a meeting of
the British Association at  Liverpool, it being then gravely stated,
that it was impossible to add an acid to a silicate of potassa with-
out precipitating the silic'a! This, of course, must be the  case, un-
less the solution be diluted with water.  My  object in subjecting
this fluid to a long continued electric action, through, the interven-
tion of a porous stone, was to form, if possible, crystals of  silica
at one of the poles  of the  battery, but I failed  in accomplishing
this by those means.  On  the fourteenth day from the commence-
 ment  of the  experiment,  I  observed, through a lens, a few  small
 whitish excrescences  or nipples projecting from about the middle
 of the electrified stone, and nearly under the dropping of the fluid
 abpve ; on the eighteenth day, these projections enlarged, and seven
 or eight filaments,  each of them larger than the excrescence from
 which it grew, made their appearance on each of the nipples.
   " On the tAventy-second day these appearances were more elevated
 and distinct,  and on the twenty-sixth  day, each figure assumed the
 form  of a  perfect  insect,  standing erect  on a few bristles which 
118        NATUREOF  ETHERIUM.
formed its tail.   Till this period I had no notion that these appear-
ances were any other than an incipient mineral formation;  but it
was not until the twenty-eighth day, when I plainly perceived
these little creatures move their legs, that I felt any surprise, and I
must own that when this took place, I Avas not a little astonished.
I endeavored to detach, with the point of a needle, one or two of
them that died, and 1  was obliged to wait patiently for a few days
longer, when they separated themselves from the stone, and moved
about at pleasure, although, they had been for sometime after birth
apparently averse to motion.   In the course of a feAV weeks, about
a hundred of them made their appearance on the stone.  I observed
that at first each of them fixed itself for a considerable time in one
spot, appearing, as far as I could judge, to feed by suction; but
when a ray of light from the sun was directed upon it, it seemed
disturbed, and removed itself to the  shaded part of the stone.  Out
of a hundred insects not above five  or six were born on the south
side of the stone.  1 examined some of them with the microscope,
and observed that the smaller ones appeared to have only six legs,
but the larger ones eight."
  Mr. Crosse, concludes, " 1st. I have not observed a formation of
the insect, except on a moist and  electrified surface, or under an
electrified fluid.   By this I do not mean to assert that electricity
has any thing to do with their birth, as I have not made a sufficient
number of experiments to prove or disprove it.
  " 2d.  These insects do not appear to haVe originated from others
similar to themselves, as they are formed in all cases with access
of moisture, and in some cases two inches below the surface of the
fluid in which they were born; and  if a full grown and perfect in-
sect be let fall into any fluid, it is infallibly drowned.
  " 3d.  I believe they live for many weeks ; occasionally 1 have
found them dead in groups, apparently from Avant of food.* •
  " P. S.—Since writing the above account, I have obtained the in-
sects on a bare platina wire plunged into fluo-silicic acid, one inch
below the surface of the fluid at the negative pole of a small battery
of two inch  plates in cells filled with water.  This is a somewhat
singular fluid for  these insects to breed in who seem  to  have a
  * These interesting  experiments have not yet been successfully
repeated. 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         119
flinty taste, although, they are by no  means confined to siliceoua
fluids."

  The Rev. Mr. Townsend, in his " Facts in Mesmerism,"
page 330,says:

  " I think, then, at present, that the most striking fact of which
I have heard, relative to the identity of the nervous and electric
agencies, is the discovery of Desmoulins, that the transmission of
sensation and motion is made by the surface of the spinal marrow,
and not by its central parts.   This is exactly parallel to the action
of electricity, which is developed only, and transmitted, along the
surfaces of bodies.   That nerves really do conduct a matter, simi-
lar, at least, to the electric, has been also proved by the fact, that
a magnet, held  betAveen the two  sections of a recently divided
nerve, was observed to be deflected, as by an electric current.
  " But the kind of electricity Avhich is in the  human frame, is,
probably, a modification of the original principle.  In many parti-
culars it bears more resemblance to galvanism, and it is really ascer-
tained, by experiments on dead animals, that the nervous fibre has
a property of being galvanically affected, which (though varying, of
course, like  other properties, with  the  condition of the substance
in which it resides) may be called inherent.  Some most interest-
ing specimens, by Dr. Elliotson, in which patients, by a re-enforce-
ment of mesmeric poAver, were shown capable of swinging round
large Aveights, impossible to be even lifted by them in their ordinary
condition, prove again the intimate connection between the mes-
meric medium and the muscular force, which, as every one knows,
is dependent on the state of the nerves, and  by them conducted
from  the brain.   If personal evidence may be allowed to have im-
portance, I  may add, that I  am  of an  electric  temperament; so
much so, that long ago, when a child, I used to amaze  and even
alarm my young companions, by combing my hair before them in
the dark, and exhibiting to  them  the electric coruscations.   Of
course, also, this phenomenon takes place most remarkably in a
dry, and, therefore, non-conducting atmosphere.  Now, between
this electrical endoAA'ment and Avhatever mesmeric properties I may
possess, there is a perfect relationship  and parallelism.  Whatever
state  of the atmosphere tends to carry off electricity from the body, 
120         NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
hinders in so far my capacity for mesmerizing; and whatever state
of the atmosphere tends to accumulate and  insulate electricity in
the body, promotes  greatly the  power and  facility with which I
influence others mesmerically.
  "My feelings of bodily health also vary with the plus or minus
of electricity; and, perhaps, did persons oftener attend to such
things, a similar phenomenon might not uncommonly be remarked.
This, at least, we may admit, that the welfare of the human body
depends on the equilibrium or proper distribution of its forces, and
that the electric is one of these,  just as much as heat  or oxygen.
The mesmeric force has, more than  any other,  been shown to be
inherent in man ;  and, taking all the above facts into consideration,
it is by no means a strained conclusion that  it actually is that par-
ticular modification of electricity Avhich  is appropriate to the hu-
man constitution.  When, then,  after having mesmerized a person,
I have a peculiar feeling of loss of strength and general uneasi-
ness,  which can by no means  be traced to the usual causes, I am
compelled to consider this as a proof that I have suffered by a tem-
porary  destruction  of equilibrium  in that medium  Avherewith I
have  charged another person; that medium, namely, which  we
have  agreed  to call  mesmeric.   That  Avhich greatly  adds to  the
presumption is the fact that there is gain in  the patient as there is
loss in the  mesmerizer.    The tendency of mesmeric influence to
restore equilibrium to the bodily forces is manifest.  Under its ben-
eficial action 1 have seen headaches cured, fatigue dissipated,, and
trifling bodily ailments removed in a short time."

  Muller, the celebrated physiologist, says,—

  " The stimulus of galvanism  excites, in all the organs of sense,
different sensations in each  organ, namely, the sensation proper to
it.  In the eye, a feeble  galvanic current excites the special sensa-
ticm of the optic nerve, namely, that of light.  In the auditory nerve,
electricity produces the sensation of sound.   It has not, at present,
been much observed, Avhether peculiar smells are produced by the
application of galvanism to the organs of smell.   Hitter, hoAvever,
has perceived them; and it is<a known fact, that the electricity ex-
cited by friction, gives rise to the smell of phosphorous."

  " A steel needle, plunged  into a nerve, becomes magnetic; and 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         121
 on being withdrawn, it is found to have  the  power  of attracting
 light substances.
   " Muller affirms, that efficient galvanic piles may be formed from
 organic animal substances, Avithout the use of metals.  Wienholn
 states that he has seen sparks obtained by  bringing the divided
 ends  of two nerves together.   The electrical properties  of the tor-
 pedo, and a species of eel, are also well known.  The  gymnotus,
 for instance, it would seem, possesses a complete galvanic battery.
 Two  troughs are found on  each  side  of the spine, separated  from
 ea'ch  other by a ligament extending the whole length of the fish ;
 and the resemblance of this apparatus to the galvanic pile, is cer-
 tainly very remarkable."—Pathetism.
   " The rapidity, Avith Avhich sensation and volition are communi-
 cated along the nerves, could not fail to suggest a resemblance to
 the mode in  which the electric  and  galvanic fluids fly along con-
 ducting wires.  Yet the great support of the opinion was in the ex-
 periments instituted by Dr.  Wilson Philip  and others, from which
 it appeared, that  if the nerve proceeding to a part be  destroyed,
 and the secretion, Avhich ordinarily takes place in the part, be thus
 arrested, the secretion may be  restored by  causing the galvanic
 fluid  to  pass from  one divided extremity of the nerve to  the
 other.
  " The experiments, connected Avith  secretion, will be  noticed
more  at length hereafter.  It  will likeAvise be shoAvn, that in the
 effect  of galvanism upon the muscles, there is the same analogy;—
 that the muscles may be made to contract for a length of time after
the death of the animal, even Avhen a limb has been removed from
 the body, on  the application of the galvanic stimulus ; and compar-
 ative  anatomy exhibits to us great development  of nervous struc-
 ture in those electrical animals, Avhich surprise us by the intensity
of the electric shocks they are capable of communicating.
  " Physiologists of the present day generally, we think, accord
with the electrical hypothesis. The late Dr. Young, so  celebrated
 for his knowledge in numerous departments of science,  adopted it
prior  to the interesting experiments of Dr. Philip; and Mr. Aber-
nethy, whilst he is strongly opposing the doctrines of materialism,
 goes  so  far  as to consider some subtile  fluid, not merely as the
agent of nervous transmission, but as forming the  essence of  life
itself.  Dr. Bostock,  however, has remarked, that before the elec-
                  6* 
122       NATURE  OF ETHERIUM.
trie hypothesis can be considered proved, two points must  he de-
monstrated ; first, that ^function of the nervous systenmay
be performed by the substitution of electricity for the action.the
nerves;  and secondly, that all the nerves admit of this substitution.
This is true, as concerns the belief in the rdenMy of the nervou
and electrical fluids; but we have,  even now, evidence sufficient
to show their  similarity, and that we are  justified ,n considering
the nervous fluid as electroid or galvanoid in its nature, emanating
from the brain by some action unknown to us, and distributed to
the different parts of the system to  supply the expenditure, which
 must be constantly going on."—Dunglison's Physiology, J>. 87.
   The  idea that the will of man can direct Etherium or elec-
tricity in such a manner as to produce Etheropathy or mes-
merism, has been considered as inconsistent Avith the nature
of electricity and  also of the will; but in the case of the
electric eel we have an instance of the will discharging the
electric fluid with such force as to paralyze the limbs of an-
imals at a great distance, and even of their producing death
by this power.   Many very honest persons argue that the
Deity would never bestow upon man such a wonderful pow-
 er as that which some experiments in Etheropathy indicate;
but the poAver possessed by the gymnotus is far greater than
 that possessed by man.  The most wonderful feats that any
 mesmerizer ever pretended to perform  are unequal to those
 which are  habitually and instinctively performed by one of
 the very lowest and least intellectual of the vertebrated an-
 imals.   Many objections which are urged  against the  doc-
 trines which I am advancing are entirely put to rest by the
 simple facts connected with the natural history of these in-
 teresting animals.   Here we see  electricity actually gener-
 ated in the animal body, accumulated  in an insulated reser-
 voir, the outlet of which is perfectly under the control of the
 will, so that the fluid can be reserved  or expended  at plea-
 sure.  We  see the intellect directing  the electric bolt with
 all the precision of an accomplished engineer, and projecting
 it with the  most  fatal effect upon its adversary.   Like  a 
              NATURE  OF ETHERIUM.         123

 skillful  etherean operator or mesmerizer  he ascertains  the
 degree  of susceptibility  which is possessed  by different
 bodies with which he comes in contact, so as not to exhaust
 his energies upon non-conductors.   In short you see in one
 of the most stupid and insignificant animals, a realization of
 all the fabled  powers of Olympian  Jove.   The exploits of
 Mesmer, Peysegur, or Elliotson sink into mere trifles com-
 pared Avith those of the electric eel; and yet you will hear
 gentlemen who are renowned throughout the wide world for
 " learned ignorance" talk in the most oracular style of the
 utter  improbability that  the  Deity would give  one  of  his
 creatures such power over another.  The following  is from
 Rees' Encyclopedia :

   " From the observations of Condamine and others, engaged about
 the same time in a series of experiments on the electric  properties
 of the electricus gymnotus, it is clearly demonstrated that the pow-
 er of this animal consists  in a kind of genuine electricity, being
 equally capable of being  conducted or intercepted by the same
 means as electricity.  Thus, on touching the fish with the fingers,
 the same sensation is perceived as on touching the charged vial.
  " This electric faculty of the gymnotus, is apparently designed
 by  nature to assist in the support of its existence; the smaller
 fishes and other animals Avhich happen to approach it, being  in-
 stantly struck motionless, and dropping to the bottom of the water,
 become an easy prey.  The shock this fish is capable of exerting,
 is so great as to deprive almost of sense and motion those who  are
 exposed  to  its influence, and is therefore much dreaded by those
 who bathe in the rivers it  inhabits.   Some writers affirm,  even,
 that the violence of the shock gjjfen by those of a larger size, is so
 great as to occasion instant death.   Their average length is about
 three feet, but they are  sometimes found in the river Surinam up-
 Avards of twenty feet in length ; and the shock of one of these is
 said to prove instant death  to the person who receives it.   Electri-
 cal fishes are capable of repeating the shocks very frequently in a
 short space of time.
  " Mr. Jno. Wash, in a letter to Dr. Franklin, says, that he reck-
oned fifty shocks in a minute and a half, given by a. torpedo; and 
124        NATURE  OF   ETHERIUM.
upon another occasion, he calculated that one hundred were deliv-
ered in about five minutes.  Much of the force of the shock depends
upon the natural strength and vigor of the animal at the moment
of the experiment.   It is said to have very little electric poAver in
the AA-inter.   It is much diminished if the fish remain for any time
out of Avater.  The shocks do not appear to be lessened in strength
 by repetition, unless the animal be otherwise exhausted.   When
 the  torpedo administers a shock, it  is always observed to depress
the eyes, and to make some movements  of the lateral fins.  The
other electric fishes do not accompany these shocks by any visible
muscular effort.   HoAvever strong  the shock  of fishes  may be, it
has never been seen to produce the least noise nor luminous appear-
ance—and it will not pass through the  smallest portion of air;  it
must, therefore, be greatly deficient in intensity.   The  electricity
of fishes  has  not the  poAver  of attracting floating substances.
When a person is insulated, and touches the fish, he receives a shock
as at other times, but gives no appearance of excess of electricity,
however long he may keep up his  communication with the animal.
A Leyden phial also being put into contact Avith  an electric  eel,
never becomes charged.  It would appear that the  electric phe-

   From the Penny  Cyclopoedia:
  " When the battery is applied to a nerve  of a person recently dead,
and  the circuit is completed, several  violent' motions ensue,  de-
pendent on the relative position of the nerve and muscle ;  thus, when
the wire communicates with the phrenic nerve, the muscles of respira-
tion are  set in motion; wheniYom the ulnar nerve to the spinal mar-
row is included in the circuit, the fingers are set in quick motion  and
so on.  Fishes are still more susceptible of this electric action than ani-
mals, and strong convulsive motions will be exhibited by a live floun-
der placed on a zinc dish and having a piece of copper or silver on its
back, as soon as the two metals come in contact:  similar effects take
place with leeches, worms and amphibious animals.
   " It was thought by Volta that the involuntary muscles, such as the
heart, could  not be thus excited,  but experiment has decided  against
him.                                                     ^
  "When the secretion was suspended by cutting the eighth pair  of
nerves, Dr. Philip  and several French anatomists have restored it by
establishing a galvanic current through the divided part of the nerves
next the stomach.                              r
   « Intermittent currents have been employed in  the experiments  of
Masson, Peltier  and  Delanve.  To effect  this, M. Masson  used a
toothed  wheel rotating by a  cord round it; its axis, supporter  and
itself being all metallic;  a communication  is formed between  this
wheel and a battery m the form of a helix:  the object of the teeth  of 
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.         125
nomena  of  fishes are produced  in  a manner different from every
species of physical electricity.*   All experimentalists, agree that
they  regulate  the  strength,  and  frequency of the  shocks at
pleasure.
  " Dr. Williamson, relates, that some small fishes being throAvn
into the same water where an electric eel was swimming, it imme-
diately killed and swalloAved them,  but  a larger fish being thrown
in, it was also killed, although, it was too large for the eel to swal-
low ;  another fish Avas  throAvn  into the water, at some distance
from the eel, it swam up to the fish, but presently turned away,
without offering  it any  violence;  after' some time it  returned,
the wheel is  occasionally to suspend the  action  of  the  current by
making the connecting rod of too great a length ; hence, when the
wheel is made to revolve, the galvanic current acts and is suspended
alternately.   By a series of intermitted discharges produced in this
manner, M. Masson had  the cruel pleasure of killing a cat.
   * " P. Santi Linari drew the electric spark from the gymnotus m the
following manner:—he took a glass tube of the shape of a capital U,
which  he partly  filled with mercury ; at each end was fixed an iron
wire through a wooden button,  and which reached  very near the
mercury.   The apparatus being fixed with mastic  on varnished wood,
the end of the wires were made to touch  short platina wires termi-
nated by lamina? of the same metal intended to make a good communi-
cation with the different parts of the electrical fish   When the circuit
was formed, a spark visible even in the daylight appeared at the  place
where the conductors were interrupted.   This  experiment he has
repeated in different forms." {Biblio'th. Univ. de Geneve.)
   " Galvanism, in its action on the human system,resembles electricity,
yet it is distinguished by certain peculiarities.   In  its application  it
can be rendered  more continuous and uniform,  and may, like elec-
tricity, be administered either in shocks, or in a  regular flow ot gal-
vanic influence through  the body.  It possesses more power over the
 chemical actions of the body than electricity, and promotes more com-
 pletely those processes of decomposition and recomposition which take
 place in the  living frame, as well as the functions of organic life, than
 common electricity.  But the chief distinction consists  in the differ-
 ence of action of the two poles.  Each pole excites a peculiar pheno-
 mena in the organs to which it is applied.   This difference is less per-
 ceptible when  mere shocks are administered, than when a continuous
 stream of galvanic influence is transmitted from one point to another of
 the body.  The positive pole more particularly influences the muscular
 and vascular system, while the  negative  pole more especially  affects
 the nervous system.  At the  positive pole there is  felt the shock,
 strong movements, a feeling of concentration and contraction,increased
 warmth  and mobility of the- part,  with gradual diminution of the
 secretion and sensibility.  At the negative pole the pain and sensibil y
 are stronger and more acute, the organ expands, is more irritable, while 
126
NATURE  OF  ETHERIUM.
when, seeming to vieAV it for  a feAV  seconds, it gave  the fish a
shock, upon which it instantly turned up its  belly and  continued
motionless.   A  third fish Avas thrown  into the  water,  to which
the eel gave such a shock, that it turned on its side, but continued
to give signs of life; the eel  seeming to observe this, as it was
turning away,  immediately  returned  and struck  it  quite mo-
tionless."
the muscular action and mobility are lessened.  The difference of their
action on the secreting powers is best seen by applying the respective
poles to a surface which has been recently deprived of its cuticle, such
as where a  blister has been.   The positive pole changes  the serous
secretion into that  of lymph, which at last becomes thready; the part
dries and is inflamed.  The negative pole causes an abundant secretion
of a dark-colored, highly acrid fluid, which excoriates the  skin over
which it flows, the part also experiences an enduring irritation. Atonic
swellings are rendered harder, should they not become inflamed by the
positive pole, while frequently by the negative pole they are dispersed
and  resolved.   Notwithstanding the  possession of such powerful
properties, galvanism has not produced so valuable results in medicine
as might have been anticipated.  This comparative failure'is, no doubt,
to be attributed to errors in the mode of applying it.  It may be proper
however to  remark, that  it Avas urgently  recommended during the
prevalence of the Asiatic cholera, but the results were not satisfactory.
Like many other powerful agents, it was not used till a very late stage
in the complaint, when recovery was almost impossible.   It is also to
be doubted whether galvanism be at all applicable to cholera, since it
appears that the continued application of it causes death, by inducing
inflammation of the lungs,  in cases of animals where  the eighth pair of
nerves have be,en divided,  more speedily thari where the same nerves
have been divided in animals to which the galvanic power was not ap-
plied as a substitute for the nervous.  Inflammation  is the invariable
consequence of the application of the positive pole; while the negative
pole would cause a flow of acrid secretion  which could not benefit the
patient.  The identity of  electricity, whether common or galvanic,
with the nervous power, is much to be questioned." 
SECTION  IV.
                     OXYGEN.

  Having  shown the nature of Etherium, I proceed to in-
quire how its motion is generated in the human constitution,
through the agency of oxygen.
  In 1774, Dr. Priestly discovered that the atmospheric air
is composed of two different substances—one of which has
since received the name of oxygen ; and it has been found
to perform  a more important part in chemical combinations
than any other ponderable substance with which we are ac-
quainted.   The  burning  of  fuel and  other substances, is
caused by the combination of oxygen  Avith some of their
component elements.  The rusting and tarnishing of metals
is caused by their surfaces forming a chemical union with
oxygen.  Most of the substances which are commonly call-
ed earths, are, in reality, but  a combination of oxygen Avith
some metal; this is true of soda, potash, lime, magnesia,
etc.  Water is a combination  of  oxygen with hydrogen.
Paints  are  all  composed of some metal, combined with
oxygen.    The  common galvanic  battery   derives   its
power  from the  union of oxygen with its metallic plates.
The blood  of all  animals  is  stimulating and nourishing
in  proportion to the  amount  of  oxygen which  it con-
tains—no animal can live a moment without oxygen : and,
finally, the number and force—that is, the quantity—of ani-
mal  motions, is  in  proportion  to  the amount of  oxygen
which they require.   The motions of animals are undoubt-
edly, produced by the agency of Etherium ; this is the set- 
128                 OXYGEN.

tied opinion of those physiologists who  are  most capable,
from their knowledge and experience, of forming  a correct
judgment upon this subject.   It is also admitted, that oxygen
is directly related to animal motions.   Noav the question to
be  determined is, what relation has oxygen  to Etherium?
and Avhat relation has it to the animal motions which Etheri-
um produces ?  "
  The following seems to me the  most reasonable explana-
tion, and one which will receive  the approbation of philo-
sophic minds:
  Every chemical change  or combination is accompanied
with a motion of Etherium, whether we perceive it or not.
Some motions, thus produced, are more poweiful than others;
and the more powerful neutralize the weaker, or cause them
to conform.  The motions of animals are  produced  in  a
manner so very analogous to those produced by galvanism,
as to excite a suspicion  in  the  minds of all  scientific  men
that they are produced in a similar manner  in both cases.
We examine to see Avhat there  is  in common, and the first
and must striking fact that arrests our attention, in both ope-
rations, is,  the agency of oxygen.  In both instances, we
find oxygen draAvn from the atmosphere to combine with  a
liquid ;  in both instances the liquid comes in contact  with
a substance which has a greater  affinity for oxygen; this
substance, whatever it may be,  unites with the oxygen and
forms an oxide ;  instantly an invisible agent, which I -call
Etherium, is evolved, (or, rather, amotion of Etherium pro-
duced,) which in one case  is adapted  to move an iron ma-
chine, and  in the other, a muscular machine.
  The conclusion is irresistible, that oxygen, by its chemi-
cal combinations, produces the motions of Etherium in  both
machines.
  It is the  office of the stomach to furnish the  materials of
nourishment,  (carbon and hydrogen,) and of the luno-s to
furnish oxygen, the material of motion.  This is the reason 
OXYGEN.
129
why vegetables, which have little or no occasion to move,
use so little  oxygen; and why animals  use  an amount of
oxygen exactly in  proportion to their  motions.   It is the
reason  why the predominance of the  digestive functions
causes fat (which is composed of carbon and hydrogen) to
accumulate ; while the  preponderance of the  lungs and
brain is  generally accompanied with leanness; as the fat
(carbon and hydrogen) is used up in combining with oxygen
to produce motion.
   This  explains why sleep is useful,  as it enables fat to
accumulate for the supply of the oxygen needed  to  sustain
motion when aAvake.
   During sleep there  is just oxygen enough furnished to
supply motion to the  involuntary organs ; during waking,
enough to supply both voluntary and involuntary.   Oxygen
is used immediately after it is received ; carbon and hydro-
gen may (in the form of fat) be reserved until  needed.
There is generally more carbon and hydrogen secreted than
used during sleep, and the surplus is reserved  to be used
while awake.
   The  reason Avhy sleep is  necessary, is, because  we do
not digest and secrete fast enough to supply  carbon and hy-
drogen for  the oxygen  which it  would  require to move
 voluntary and involuntary organs twenty-four hours.
   The conclusion is, that the  quantity of motion of Ethe-
 rium generated in a man, is in proportion to the  quantity  of
 oxygen  which combines with his food ; and the quantity  of
 oxygen  which combines with food in a given time, depends
 upon the size and perfection of the lungs and stomach, the
 proportion  which they bear to each other, and the expendi-
 ture of  material made in producing voluntary and involun-
 tary motion.
    There are many other modes by which Etherium may  be
 set in motion without the agency of oxygen, but 1 contend
 that this is the use to which respired oxygen is put in the
 animal  system. 
SECTION   V.
                        SLEEP.
           NEW PHILOSOPHY OF ORDINARY SLEEP.

  Vegetables sleep incessantly, all their actions being in-
voluntary.*  The motions of animals are divided  into volun-
tary and  involuntary.   When  the  animal  is  performing
involuntary motions only, he is said to be asleep.  When
he is performing voluntary  motions he is awake.  There  is
a very great  difference among animals in regard to the time
which they spend in sleep ; there is also a difference in this
respect among men ; and a difference in the same individual
at different periods of life, and in different states  of health.
   The  only theories of sleep which  have ever been pro-
posed that I know of, are founded upon the idea that sleep
is necessary  to restore to the body the substance which  it
loses by  its  operations  during  the  waking period, and  to
give the organs an opportunity to rest.  It is spoken of  as

          " Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep."

   This is the view  supported, or  rather  assumed, by Mr.
 McNish, in  his "Philosophy  of Sleep ;" and it is maintained

   *Some have asserted that vegetables sleep, because during night
 they suspend some of their functions; but this cannot properly be con-
 sidered analogous to the sleep of animals unless we admit vegetables to
 be conscious beings, and consider the parts which during night sus-
 pend their functions as voluntary organs.   That which seems to  re-
 semble sleep in vegetables is owing to the Avithdrawal of the stimulus
 which during  the day they received from the sun. 
SLEEP.
131
by Prof. Liebig in his excellent work  on " Animal Chemis-
try.''''  After making an accurate calculation of the amount
of force which an adult man expends in a day, he says :

  " Tliis supply of force is furnished in a seven hour's sleep."

  Again he says :

  "The  adult  man sleeps  seven  hours, and wakes seventeen
hours ; consequently, if the equilibrium be  restored in  twenty-four
hours, the mechanical effects  (muscular motions) produced in
seventeen hours must he equal to the effects produced during seven
hours in the formation of neAV parts."  " If in the adult man the
consumption  of force for  mechanical  purposes,  in  twenty-four
hours, be augmented beyond the amount restorable in seven hours
of sleep, then, if the equilibrium is to  be restored, less force, in
the same proportion, must be expended in mechanical effects in the
 next twenty-four hours.  If this be not done, the  mass of the
body decreases, and the state characteristic of old  age more or less
 decidedly supervenes."

   Having thus  fairly stated the received doctrine  on  this
 subject, I will now  briefly give my own  views, which are
 essentially different.
   I consider the cause of sleep to be the predominant influ-
 ence of  the involuntary  system  over the voluntary, which
 enables the involuntary system to monopolize all the avail-
 able force, and  appropriate  it to its own purposes ;  leaving
 the voluntary system without the  means of sustaining its
 operations,  it pauses of course;—this is  sleep,  and its
 cause   The force which continues both systems in action,
 is generated  by the  combination of carbon  and hydrogen,
 with oxygen.  Oxygen is  continually furnished in a suffi-
  cient quantity, but the carbon and hydrogen  is not produced
  in  a proper state and proper place to  combine with  oxygen,
  and produce force with sufficient rapidity to  supply  the con-
  stant  demands which voluntary and involuntary  systems
  would both make upon it, if they should both keep active 
132                   SLEEP.
incessantly.   This deficiency is compensated by sleep ;  not
as McNish and Liebig suppose, because  sleep is necessary
to restore the equilibrium of substance ;  for sleep is not  ne-
cessary for this purpose.  There is a restoration continually
going on  when we are awake, but it  does not  go on fast
enough to keep pace Avith the waste ; and when the reser-
voir is exhausted to a certain point, the struggle commences
between the tAvo  systems;  a struggle in which the involun-
tary system ahvays triumphs sooner or later.  If the brain
is greatly excited, it maintains the contest longer ; but if all
is quiet, monotonous  and  peaceful, while  the  stomach is
excited by food easy of digestion, the  involuntary system
easily prevails over its antagonist, the brain, inducts it  and
puts it to sleep.
  In harmony with this theory, we find that {ceteris paribus)
those who digest their food Avith great rapidity, and whose
secretions are rapid, of course, sleep but little ; while those
who digest and secrete very slowly, sleep much. This pro-
position must be understood with the proper qualifications
of ceteris paribus, or all else equal; for there are other facts
which must be taken into the account, and some of them of
much importance.  One is, the size of the  brain compared
with the body. When the brain is large in proportion to the
rest of the body, all else equal, there is a greater tendency
to  keep  awake ;  and  Avhen the brain is small, there is  a
greater tendency to sleep.  Another modifying circumstance,
is, the number of different  powers of mind possessed by the
individual; for some  animals possess a greater  number of
mental organs  than others.  Another circumstance, is, the
relative size of the higher organs of the brain compared with
the lower, as the higher organs prevent sleep by producing
reflection.  Now, take an instance for illustration, where
all the  conditions are favorable to  wakefulness:  1. When
the food is such (meat) as to be rapidly and easily digest-
ed ; 2. When the lungs are very  large,  so as  to  demand 
SLEEP.                     133
rapid digestion ;  3. Where the brain is large compared with
the rest of the  body;  4.  Where the number of the mental
organs, as in man, is  greater than  in other animals; and,
5. Where the higher organs are much larger, in proportion,
than the lower.   If my theory is correct, such a person Avill
sleep but little.   On the contrary, let all the conditions just
stated be reversed, and the individual will sleep much from
unavoidable necessity.   The basis  of Mr. Liebig's  error
(if I may venture respectfully to speak of the error of a very
justly distinguished man)  consists,  as I apprehend,  in  as-
suming that, to  use his own language—

  " A living part cannot increase in volume at the  same moment
in Avhich a portion of it loses the vital condition, and is expelled
from  the organ in the  form of a lifeless compound; on the con-
trary, it must diminish."  " And only from the period  at  which
the cause of waste ceases to operate, can the capacity of growth be
manifested."  "And, if the original equilibrium is to be restored,
we must suppose that, during sleep, an amount of force is accumu-
lated in the form of living tissue, exactly equal to that which Avas
consumed in voluntary and involuntary motion during the preced-
ing waking period."

   To annihilate this doctrine, it is only necessary to carry it
out to its consequences ; for, if it is  true that a part cannot
groAV until the cause of waste ceases to operate,  then, the
heart and all the involuntary organs, are unable to manifest
their  capacity of growth at any time during life.  But we
know that they do groAV, and we know that  they continually
Avaste, and yet they do " increase in volume at  the same mo-
ment in which a,  portion of them loses the vital condition, fyc.
What we know of the involuntary organs in  this respect, we
have  a right to assume  of  the  voluntary;  that  is, that they
are capable  of  groAving while they are  in operation, and
that sleep is not therefore necessary to the continuation of
life, excepting so far as it economizes force. 
 134                    SLEEP.

   Again, Mr. Liebig's assumption is not true, that, all else
 equal,—
   " The mechanical force  available for work, is directly propor-
 tional to the number of hours' sleep."
 It would, doubtless, be true, if the restoration of substance
 and  the acquisition of force could only take place during
 sleep; but I have already shown that this  is not true, and
 consequently, the  assumption  of  a  regular proportion  of
 force to sleep is also without basis.  It is at war with facts.
 Birds, that sleep less than any other animals, surpass all ani-
 mals in the amount and velocity of their motions.   In pro-
 portion to their size  they certainly expend more  force  in
 voluntary motions than any other animals ;  and yet, accord-
 ing to Mr. Liebig, they accumulate less, because they sleep
 less.   It  cannot be said that  they sleep so much  sounder
 than other animals, that they are therefore enabled  to accu-
 mulate enough in their brief sleep to support their long con-
 tinued and vigorous motions, for their sleep is not only brief,
 but very light and imperfect. They are so easily waked that
-it seems doubtful  whether  they are  ever  entirely asleep.
 According to my theory it is  easy to understand,  that  an
 animal of this kind  could entirely dispense with sleep: I  do
 not doubt that some birds might be kept awake continually.
 It is said, indeed, that fishes never sleep, and  I  can readily
 believe it; for with their rapid digestion and little expendi-
 ture of force, balanced as they are in the water and sustained
 by the gravity of their native element so as to need but little
 exertion to propel themselves about, there is little occasion
 for sleep  if my views are correct;  but,  according to Mr.
 Liebig, they ought to sleep during  the whole time that they
 are growing;  and the amount  of their sleep ought  to  be
 proportional to the amount of growth  added to the amount
 of substance expended in all their motions ;  this is certainly
 not  true, and, therefore,  Mr. Liebig is certainly and obvi- 
SLEEP.
135
ously wrong on this point, notwithstanding the genius which
he has exhibited  in so many other departments  of inquiry.
As I propose  to illustrate this interesting  subject more in
detail on some future occasion, I will not pursue it further
in this work.  It seems, then, that the immediate cause of
sleep is  that  the involuntary system  actually inducts or
mesmerizes the brain ;  at certain regularly returning periods,
monopolizes, for  its own use, all the force then  on  hand,
and proceeds to accumulate substance until the  stimulus of
the external world prevails and  inducts the external senses
and brain sufficiently to produce waking.
  The apparent design of the Creator in ordaining sleep, is
to prevent  the unnecessary expenditure of force.  Accord-
ingly, those animals, or those parts of animals, whose  cir-
cumstances require continual action, never sleep.  To illus-
trate :  horses  sleep standing, rabbits with their eyes open—
it is said that fishes never sleep, and we know that  the heart
never sleeps. 
SECTION  VI.
       THE ORGAN OF  CONSCIOUNESS.

  It is impossible to avoid  the conclusion, that there is a
central organ of Consciousness in the  brain, where  all the
other organs of mind concentrate their forces, where  their
relative influence is appreciated, and their relative claims td
superiority weighed and allowed.—An organ of Conscious-
ness, to which all the other organs  of the brain, and all the
various external organs of sensation are merely auxiliaries.
All the organs of the brain which are  concerned in thought
and feeling, converge to this grand centre, and all the nerves
of voluntary motion diverge from it.
   The organ of Consciousness is located in the medulla ob-
longata—this  is  the point where sensation terminates, and
volition commences—this is the seat of Consciousness.  The
proof  is derived from experiment;. for, if the brain above
and  the spinal cord below, are both  destroyed, conscious-
ness still continues, provided the medulla oblongata and its
nerves are uninjured ; but if the oblongata is destroyed, con-
sciousness is  also destroyed.   This  is  conclusive  and un-
answerable proof.   The  precise minute point where Con-
sciousness holds its mysterious throne, whether it is exactly
 at the place where the pneumogastric nerve is inserted, or the
 twentieth or the third part of an inch above it, is not yet ascer-
 tained, nor is it material; it is certain that it is not below the
 place where that nerve is inserted ;  it is certain that it is not an
 inch above. This is what we knoAv, and all we know, of the
 location of Consciousness—the sanctorum of the mind. There 
CONSCIOUSNESS.
137
is other evidence which confirms  this, but none which so
decidedly settle the question.  Thus,.we find that the prin-
cipal fibres of the brain converge to this point, and we  find
all the nerves of sensation and of voluntary motion in direct
communication Avith it. Its intermmediate position betAveen
the brain and spinal cord, the fact  that it is possessed by all
animals of the vertebrated class,  the fact that some animals
have more and others  less phreno-organs superadded to the
oblongata—but none are  Avithout  this  important part—all
conspire to sustain and  illustrate the decisive experiments by
which this is proved to be the location of the organ of Con-
sciousness.
  " The spinal marrow is sensible along the whole of its posterior
column, but it also acts only as a conductor  of the impression.
Flourens destroyed the spinal cord from be'oAv,  by slicing it away,
and he found that sensibility Avas gradually extinguished in the
parts corresponding  to  the  destroyed medulla, but that the parts
situated above evidently continued to feel.   Perception therefore
occurs in the encephalon; and not in the A\diole but in some of its
parts.  Many physiologists, amongst Avhom  may be mentioned
Haller, Lorry, Rolando and Flourens, have sliced aAvay the brain,
and found that the sensations continued until the knife reached the
level of the corpora quadrigemina;  and  again  it has been found,
that if the spinal cord be sliced away from beloAv upwards, the
sensations persist until Ave reach the  medulla oblongata.  It is,
then, in the medulla oblongata that Ave must place the cerebral or-
gans of the senses, and it is Avith this part of the cephalo-spinal
axis, that the nerves of the senses are found to communicate.
  " Mr. LaAvrence saAv a child Avith no more encephalon  than  a
bulb, Avhich was a continuation for about an inch above the fora-
men magnum of Ihe  medulla spinalis, and  with which  all the
nerves from the fifth to the ninth pair were connected,  The child's
breathing and temperature were natural ; it took food,  and at first
moved very briskly: It hved four days."—Dunglison's Physiology,
p. S3.
                   7 
138
THE  ORGAN  OF
   The location of Consciousness is not, in itself, a very im-
 portant or essential  circumstance, provided  it be admitted
 that there is such an organ,-and that it has a  location some-
 where in the brain ;  the philosophy founded upon Conscious-
 ness Avould be the same if its location were utterly unknown.
 Dr.  Reid, the greatest  of the  Scotch philosophers, advo-
 cated the doctrine that Consciousness is a distinct power of
 the mind, but did not attempt to give  it a local habitation.
 Aristotle  and the ancient philosophers considered the brain
 as the sensorium, but did not designate any particular portion
 as especially entitled to that name.   Descartes considered
 the pineal gland as the seat of the soul.  Darwin and many
 modern physiologists use the term sensorium to signify the
 seat of the mind, wherever it may be.   The  researches and
 experiments of the  anatomists of France and  Italy, which
 have been made  within the last hundred  years upon living
 animals, with a design of ascertaining the offices which are
 performed by different portions of the brain, have been Arery
 numerous, and have cost much labor, and  excited much
 discussion.  Those experiments have, however, been of but
 little  use, except so  far as relates to the seat  of Conscious-
 ness.   They demonstrated that life  is independent of the
 brain ; that  respiration and volition  is dependent upon the
 brain; that the medulla  oblongata is the  centre of volition
 and sensation; and that the brain, all excepting the medulla
 oblongata, may be taken aAvay, and respiration and volition
 and the signs of Consciousness remain. These experiments
 seemed to be at war with the doctrines of Gall and  Spurz-
 heim, and their fairness Avas consequently denied by the ad-
 vocates of phrenology ; none of them  have considered the
 experiments as affording evidence of the truth-of phrenology,
though in  reality they do so, if the doctrines  which  I have
advanced  respecting Consciousness, are  admitted  to be
correct.
  All the phrenological writers seem  to have entertained 
CONSCIOUSNESS.
139
the most  vague notions concerning Consciousness.  Both
Spurzheim and Combe, and indeed all other phrenologians,
deny the existence of Consciousness as a separate power of
the mind.  They seemed to have a notion that each mental
poAver has a Consciousness of its own, in some Avay, which
they did not attempt to define,  and  probably did not them-
selves clearly comprehend.  The opponents of phrenology
have not failed to avail themselves of  this weak  point in
the science.  They have triumphantly  demanded, " What
constitutes the unity of mind—the unity of Consciousness in
our system of phreno-philosophy ?"  They have justly cha-
racterized the science  as a federal republic without a com-
mon  executive—a  circumference without  a  centre ;  and
though  they  were inclined to  admit that phrenology  has
added some useful facts to  our stock of  knoAvledge on  this
subject, it is not itself entitled, in their opinion, to  the
claims which its friends set up  for it, to be considered as a
systematic science.*  There was, indeed, but too much truth
in this  criticism, and I hope that this introduction of the
organ of- Consciousness will in  a great measure obviate not
only this difficulty, but many others which previously lay
in the way of the metaphysicians. The  error of Spurzheim
on this point, which  was adopted by Combe and other  fol-
lowers of that illustrious man, may be traced in all his works,
and in the works of all his disciples.   Spurzheim divided
the powers of the mind into feelings and intellectual facul-
1 ies. He reckoned tAventy different organs of feelings, besides
fifteen thinking faculties. He and Combe also speak repeat-
edly of  these  different  poAvers, as operating sometimes in
harmony, and sometimes in antagonism; but did not seem
to think it necessary to point out the common ground upon
Avhich their  harmony  or  antagonism  is  displayed,  and
Avithout which it is impossible that it can be displayed at all.
* See Henry's History of Philosophy, article Cabanis, 
140              THE  ORGAN  OF
  If we say that Consciousness is dependant upon a material
organ, it may be objected that it is then  compound  in its
material constitution,  and consequently liable, after death,
to be decomposed, and, of course, its identity annihilated.  I
answer that  the organ of Consciousness is not necessarily
compound.   The  essential element of the organ  may, for
ausht we  know,  be  an  ultimate  and  indivisible  atom  of
matter, which has the inherent property of being conscious,
when placed in proper relations to  the senses and  other
organs, so  as to have this property excited.  An indivisible,
indestructible atom of matter, is immortal in its existence and
its  identity ;  and  if it is capable  of Consciousness,  when
placed in proper circumstances, then Consciousness  is im-
mortal, though  it may remain dormant for ages for Avant of
the  proper circumstances to  excite  it.   There  are  some
reasons for suspecting that every atom  of matter  in  exist-
ence is capable of Consciousness, when placed in the cir-
cumstances and conditions favorable to its development.*
   It is quite certain that Consciousness  can exist, in  all its
power of thought and feeling, in a particle of matter so ex-
ceedingly minute, that the most perfect microscope  cannot
perceive it.   This is demonstrated by the phenomena pre-
sented by that Avonderful  order of animals, the  Infusoria,
s5me of which, according loan accurate and mathematical
measurement by Ehrenberg and Dr. Prichard, are so diminu-
tive that twenty-five thousand  of them can stand  in  a row
upon a line  which is less than an inch  in  length, and eight
  *Locke tells of  a man who recollected distinctly that his conscious
principle, or soul, was once the soul of  Socrates.  Now if conscious-
ness depends upon an ultimate material particle,  it is- not impossible
that the very identical consciousness which is now possessed by Queen
Victoria was once possessed  by Queen Maud; and it  may be  that if
Her Majesty will resolutely set to work, she may be able to recollect
the circumstance. If this principle be  admitted, it may be also that
the  future  state, condition, and  associations  of Consciousness, will
be  dependant  upon  the  aptitudes and habits,  the moral and phy-
sical sympathies and antipathies which it has acquired in  its past and
present state—but we can no longer touch bottom. 
                  CONSCIOUSNESS.              141
 millions can occupy less space than a mustard  seed.  Now,
 when Ave reflect that each of these animals has limbs, mouth,
 organs of digestion,  an involuntary  and voluntary system,
 with a central Consciousness—how large a space can we
 suppose the central Consciousness occupies ? That it exists
 in them, as in us, no one will  deny;  it is  also plain  that
 it does  not occupy the whole of the  body in them  any
 more than it does in us;  for in their case, as in ours, a limb
 may be destroyed and yet Consciousness remain.  In them,.
 as in us and all animals, it occupies a central position, distinct
 in its nature and function from, yet  in connection with, all
 the  voluntary  organs.   Now, it can be easily demonstrated
 that Consciousness cannot possibly occupy this  central posi-
 tion in relation  to the  other organs of the  animal, with-
 out  being limited to a space  more than two hundred times
 smaller than that which the rest of the animal occupies.
 As eight  millions of the animals  occupy less space than a
 mustard seed, therefore, sixteen hundred millions of organs
 of Consciousness may exist in a space  smaller than that filled
 by  a mustard  seed.*   Surely, after this, no  one  will cavil
 about the organ of Consciousness being supposed to exist in

  * Infusoria.   This term has been applied to the numerous minute
 animals found in water,  which are commonly called animalcules.
  The invention of the microscope by Hooke, revealed the existence of
 myriads of living creatures, whose presence was before unknown;  and
 this instrument has shown that a drop of water, though  it may appear
 to the naked eye to be perfectly clear, is perhaps swarming with living
 beings.  Ehrenberg (whose labors have principally contributed to the
 knowledge of the true nature and structure of the infusory animalcules)
 has described species which are not larger than from one thousandth to
 one two-thousandth  of a line (a line is one-twelfth of an inch) in diam-
 eter, and which are  separated from one another by intervals not greater
 than their own size.  A cubic inch of water may thus contain more than
 eight hundred thousand millions of these beings, estimating them only
to occupy one-fourth of its space; and a single drop (measuring not more
than a line in diameter)  placed under the microscope, will be seen to
to hold five hundred millions, an amount perhaps nearly equal to the
 whole number of human beings on the surface of the globe.
  Distinct organs of digestion may be demonstrated in all the species.
Ehrenberg says, " all true Infusoria, even the smallest monads, are or- 
142               THE  ORGAN  OF
the smallest  possible atom  of matter, indivisible and inde-

structible.   This course of reasoning is useful in teaching
us that the nature  of Consciousness is beyond our  grasp;
that we cannot investigate it by the observation of material

bodies; that we can only know its existence  in  a general

ganized animal bodies, and distinctly provided with at  least a mouth
and internal nutritive apparatus."
  Speaking of the wonderful power of the infusorial animals to  mul-
tiply by the mysterious process of self-division, Prof. Ehrenberg says :
  " The possibility of the multiplying of an individual  to a million, in
less than forty-eight hours, was exhibited in them by the mere process
that each single  animalcule can divide itself,  within one hour,  com-
pletely lengthwise or across, and after the lapse of one hour's rest, can
repeat the same thing.   The vast effect of this activity, is, that a sin-
gle animalcule, perfectly invisible to the  naked  eye, can possibly be
increased in four  days to  140 billions  of independent animalcules.
In the polishing slate of Berlin, about 41,000 millions of these  crea-
tures form one cubic inch of stone, as may easily aud pretty accurately
be determined, &c."— Transactions of the Royal Academy of Berlin,
1840.
   In  contrast with these views, it will be interesting  to read the fol-
lowing brief extract from Dr. Lardner's Lectures :
   " A star of the seventh magnitude can easily be compared with one
of the first, in point of splendor, by the photometer—just as the light
of a sperm candle can be compared with that of a lamp.   Sir John
Herschel has compared the splendor of a star of the sixteenth magni-
tude with that of one of the first, and has found that the  light of the
latter is equal to three  hundred and sixty-two times that of the former.
From this it may be inferred that the distance  of a star of the sixteenth
magnitude is such that it would require thousands of years for its light
to reach our system.   These considerations present to  our minds most
comprehensive views of the economy of the Universe.   For if light
requires a thousand years to come from  any  of  these plainly distin-
 guishable stars, there can be no doubt that it takes twenty times  as
 long to come from others ;  and what are we to infer from this but that
there are visible objects in the  universe which 20,000 years ago  exist-
 ed as they are now seen.  Light left these stars 20,000 years ago, and
 has just reached the earth  upon which we  live.  For 20,000  years
 past, then, these stars, for aught we know, may not have existed.  The
 objects we see to-day are not the objects of to-day : the Sirius that we
 see to-day is not the Sirius of to-day. The light by which we see it left
 that star three years ago, and from that  day   to  this we have known
 nothing of it.  Into what  a singular historical state  does this  view
 throw creation !   Our system,  then, exists at an  enormous distance
 from the nearest of the fixed stars, and look in what direction we may,
 the same chasm yawns between us and it." 
CONSCIOUSNESS.             143
manner from  experience, and  its location by  experiments
which can only approximate to exactness.
   Nor does this investigation shed any light upon the sub-
ject of immortality,  If man is  necessarily immortal because
he is endowed with an indestructible organ of Consciousness,
then so is every insect  and reptile and all  the infinite va-
riety of vermin that have ever infested the  earth ; and sci-
ence offers as  powerful an  argument in  favor  of their  im-
mortality as that of man.  Of all the investigations of scien-
tific  men,  none has excited the  jealousy of sectarians as
much as the one we have now under consideration;  almost
every philosopher who  has manifested a disposition  to ap-
proach the subjeet fearlessly and examine it with independ-
ence, has had the mad-dog cry raised against him of fatalism,
materialism, or heresy.   Many of  our modern authors have
been so far influenced  by this outcry, that  they have  evi-
dently suppressed their true sentiments and smothered their
conscientious convictions to  avoid the relentless  persecutions
which arise from bigotry and superstition.  The only road
to the favor of this potent and  numerous class  of tyrants, is
to make a profound mystery of everything relating to  mind  ;
all explanation or even demonstration is condemned by them
as unpardonable heresy, dangerous  to religion, and  incon-
sistent with their own narrow views of the holy scriptures.
Nothing has had so injurious  an  effect upon the fair  and
successful  investigation  of  this subject, as  even  the well-
meant interference of these self-appointed theological critics,
and  nothing  can be more  injudicious and misplaced than
their animadversions.  The truth is, the subject is not fairly
Avithin their jurisdiction and therefore they have no right to
meddle Avith it.  The immortality of the soul  can neither
be proved nor disproved by the demonstrations of natural
science.  We  may examine the  nerves and  the brain as
milch as Ave please ; Ave may prove to a certainty that Con-
sciousness  maintains its seat in the very centre of the  oblon- 
144             THE  ORGAN  OF
gata ; we may determine the precise, individual, ultimate
atom in which  it resides with  all its  prerogatives,  where
it receives its impressions through  the  senses and sends
forth  its mandates'through  the  motor  nerved; we may
prove that it is dependent upon  the  various  phreno-organs,
the  currents of Etherium, and their  modifications  in the
different  avenues; and yet the subject is  as far beyond
our comprehension as before—Ave can discover nothing that
illustrates or illuminates immortality.   If all was doubt and
obscurity Avhen we began the search by the  light of nature,
reason and science, it is equally obscure noAV; and from the
nature of the subject  it could not possibly be otherwise.
We  have come  to  the wrong place to learn the nature  of
the immortal principle of the human soul,  or  to  find evi-
dence for or against  this important  doctrine.    Suppose it
proved that Consciousness  in this temporal life does actually
depend upon a compound material organ, which at death is
decomposed so as to render Consciousness by that organ im-
possible ; suppose this  demonstrated beyond all question;
Avould this be admitted as decisive proof that the soul is not
immortal?  Again, suppose it demonstrated that Conscious-
ness is dependent upon a single indestructible  atom, would
this be sufficient to satisfy us concerning the immortality of
man ?  We may conjecture what  Ave will, and  speculate
until Ave have exhausted all  the resources of our ingenuity,
Avithout  solving the question of our future destiny.   Con-
sciousness certainly does exist in man and every other living
animal, and has its seat at the  point where  sensation termi-
nates and volition commences ;  this is all that Ave can know.
 The condition of human Consciousness after death is a mat-
ter of religious faith, but not of scientific knowledge.
   Immortality is like one of those fixed and beautiful stars,
 that cannot be perceived by the unaided natural eye ;  but
 divine revelation is like a powerful telescope, which brings
 that star clearly to our view.   Be it, then, hereafter remem- 
CONSCIOUSNESS.
145
bered, that " eternal life and immortality is brought to light
through the gospel of Jesus Christ," and not through anato-
my and physiology, nor  any other department of scientific
investigation.   The subject is infinitely beyond the reach and
above the comprehension of finite intellect and human rea-
son.  If any one wishes to find evidence of the immortality
of the soul, let him go to the Bible.   If he rejects this tes-
timony, I can assure him that he will find it proved nowhere
else.   He  will look to human science in vain—it can  only
lead him to the grave, and  there  leave him.   History may
reveal to him, that man has, in  all ages, and under all cir-
cumstances, savage and civilized, manifested
            " This pleasing hope, this fond desire,
            This longing after immortality,"

but this affords him no assurance that his longing will be sat-
isfied.   In vain, then, do Ave send  out science  in search of
immortality for the soul; like Noah's dove it returns again,
unable  to find  a resting place, even  for itself; but divine
revelation, like the second  dove Avhich Noah sent out, comes
to the believer with its beautiful wings illuminated by re-
flections from the rainbow of eternal hope, bearing the olive-
branch, the emblem and assurance of rest and peace  from
all the storms of a troubled Avorld.
   In whatever direction we turn our eyes to the works of
nature's God, Ave find evidences of design ; and whenever
Ave are able to understand  his designs, Ave  are forced  to ac-
knowledge their wisdom.  Let us, then, inquire  Avhat was
the design of the Creator in  bestowing Consciousness upon
animals and man ?   Why  could  not  all their actions have
been involuntary, as one class of them actually is; and as
all the actions  of vegetables, in all probability, are ?   Why
was  it necessary—Avhen  organized  beings  advanced from
the condition of vegetables one degree upAvards in the scale
—why was Consciousness added ?
                    17* 
146
THE  ORGAN  OF
  This has been answered by saying that Consciousness was
given that the animal might be capable of enjoying its exist-
ence. Why, then, was not Consciousness given to vegetables
and minerals?  besides, Consciousness is often  attended with
suffering;  and, in some instances, animals seem to suffer much
more than they enjoy. This cannot,then,be the answer. When
the question is applied  exclusively to man, it  may be an-
swered, that Consciousness was bestowed because he could
not otherwise  have been made an accountable being; but
this Avill not be given as the reason Avhy Consciousness was
bestowed  upon the lowest animals ; nor will  it enable us to
explain all the instances of human Consciousness.  I will
venture to propose another reason.  It is this : Conscious-
ness became necessary, to enable the animal to act with refer-
ence to external objects,  which  are not in contact with his or-
gans.   Involuntary and unconscious actions are always per-
formed upon objects Avhich are in contact with  the organs.
When the earth  first emerged from its  primitive condition,
so that organized beings  began to live upon  it, their first
actions were probably altogether involuntary ; and when the
condition of the earth so far improved as to render the intro-
duction of animals possible, those animals were but a single
step in advance—but  one  degree superior to vegetables.
Accordingly,  the lowest animals differ from vegetables.only
in this, that they act upon objects Avhichit requires a move-
ment of their  extremities to bring into contact.   This is the
reason why vegetables, having no Consciousness,  have no
 muscular motion;  nor  do they need any, since  all the ob-
 jects which require  their action  are in contact with their
 extremities.   Vegetables have propensities to breathe,  to
 eat, to enjoy the light, &c. ;  if Consciousness were added,
 and nothing more,  we should have a vegetable  conscious oj
 its wants, but unable to move to  get  into contact  with  the
 objects which  it needed—unable even to  perceive them.
 Noav add perceptive organs and contractile muscles, and it 
CONSCIOUSNESS..             147
would be a conscious animal, with the same wants and Con-
sciousness of  those wants; and, in  'addition to these,  it
would have a Consciousness of the existence, location, form,
color, flavor and weight  of the  objects which  it needed,
and the means of moving its extremities and directing them
so as to come into contact with those objects.   The animal
may  still be  destitute  of reflective organs, and, therefore,
unable  to perceive the consequences of his actions.  He
has the very lowest animal propensities, and the very lowest
perceptiA-e organs, superadded to Consciousness. He is urged
irresistibly by his propensities to aim at certain objects, with-
out reflection, without fear, and Avithout hesitation or fore-
 thought; danger and death Avill be unseen and undreaded.  He
 will be incapable of acting with reference to any objects which
 are beyond the  limits of present perception, direct and im-
 mediate.  He has no memory, for  that can only  exist with
 reflection.  Memory  is a power Avhich  connects the past
 and  present, and depends, in some degree, upon  the reflec-
 tive powers,  of which we have assumed the animal to be
 destitute.  As  he cannot avail  himself  of past  experience
 without memory and reflection, he is a mere conscious ma-
 chine, moved  by  external stimulus.  Now add reflection
 and the higher propensities, and he is a different being ; he
 remembers past experience and profits by it, to avoid  dan-
 ger wounds and death.  He represses his present active low-
  er   propensities, because reflection  stimulates cautiousness,
 and other restraining powers.   He is no longer urged irre-
  sistibly to  act from the immediate present external stimulus,
  hu» he is  operated upon by the  treasured stimulus of the
  n^st furnished by memory  and applied by reflection, con-
  cernino- the  future effect of present conduct.  Thus we con-
  clude that Consciousness is necessary  to produce contact
  with that which  is within the range of perception at  he
  present.  Reflection and memory, and the high  F°Penslt^
  are necessary, to enable us to act with reference to that 
148     THE  ORGAN  OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
 which is absent from perception at present, but will be likely
 to be present to us hereafter.   This analysis  gives a very
 different character to memory from that which phrenologi-
 cal writers generally have bestowed upon it    They have
 made it depend altogether upon the perceptive organs ; but
 I have made them mere vehicles, modifiers, and  repeaters
 of impressions  which  are acted upon by other and higher
 powers of mind.
  The philosophical reader will perceive that the  foregoing
 explanation of Consciousness has an important bearing upon
 the subject  of clairvoyance, as it  enables us to understand
 clearly how  any  current of Etherium, which is  made to
penetrate the external coverings and isolation, the  " outside
 guardians" of the brain, can easily aftenvards reach the cen-
tral seat of Consciousness and make an impression  ; but this
is all explained in detail  in  the article  on clairvoyance, in
 another part of this work. 
SECTION  VII.
            INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.

  There are three kinds of senses, viz.; the external, the
internal-corporeal and the inter-phreno.
  1. The external senses are those Avhich convey impres-
sions from the external world to the perceptive  organs, and
give the ideas of flavor, sound, color, form, &c.
  2.  The  internal-corporeal senses are those  which
convey impressions from the different organs of the body to
appropriate organs of the brain, and produce the feelings of
hunger, thirst, suffocation, pain and  various other bodily
feelings.   These senses, or nerves, are in connection with
certain appropriate cerebral organs of the propensities which
are  dependant upon them.  Thus the  organ  of Alimentive-
ness is connected with the stomach by means of a nerve, (a
part of the Pneumogastric,) which conveys from the stomach
impressions to Alimentiveness ; another branch of the same
nerve conveys to the organ of Pneumativeness  impressions
from the lungs producing the feeling of suffocation.  There
is an infinite number of nerves  Avhich convey impressions to
the  organ  of Sanativeness,  and through its  means produce
the  feeling of  bodily pain in all its varieties.   These senses
have never be?n properly investigated and explained by any
writer upon  physiology, and the organ of Sanativeness was
unknown until I called attention to it in 1839.
  3. The inter-phreno senses are those Avhich convey im-
pressions to the phreno-organs from the organ of Conscious- 
150        INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.
ness, and from the phreno-organs to the organ of Conscious-
ness.   They produce a communication between Conscious-
ness and all the phreno-organs.
  No Avriter upon Phrenology has, prior to this  time, sug-
gested that this class of senses must exist; indeed, they
could not do so before an organ of Consciousness was  intro-
duced.  But Avhen Ave admit an organ of Consciousness, to
which every phreno-organ sends impressions, we are forced
also to admit  the  existence of fibres which connect Con-
sciousness Avith the phreno-organs in  such a manner as to
alloAV of inter-communication.
  Let us illustrate  by an example.  A man is hungry, and
eats food.   Now, there are several  links in the chain of
causes  and  effects, which resulted in the  act  of eating,
and Ave shall find it  impossible to  constitute a perfect
chain Avithout introducing  the  inter-phreno senses  as con-
necting links.  1.  The stomach,  being  in  a condition to.
need  food,  produces an  impression  upon the end of the
nerve, viz. one of the internal-corporeal senses ;  2. This
impression is conveyed (as in the electric telegraph) to the
other  extremity of the nerve, where it is  connected with
the organ of Alimentiveness ;  3.  The  organ of Alimentive-
ness, receiving the impression, is excited, and sends an im-
pression to the central organ  of Consciousness, thus pro-
ducing a state of  Consciousness  Avhich we  call hunger; 4.
The  organ of Consciousness is excited by  the impression,
and immediately from its central position radiates and trans-
mits the impression to the phreno-organs through the inter-
phreno senses; 5.  Each phreno-organ, being thus  excited,
 sends, in return to Consciousness, an  impression peculiar to
 itself.  Now, as Consciousness cannot fully recognize more
 than one impression at  a time, the most powerful impression
 forces itself upon Consciousness first, and the next impression
 follows, and so on, in the order of their relative force; this suc-
 cession of impressions constitutes what is commonly denomi- 
INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.        151
   nated a train of ideas, or a train of thought and feeling.  The
   impressions upon Consciousness, produced by the intellectual
   organs, are called thoughts ; and the impressions from the pro-
   pensities are c&Uedfeelings.  When, in the above example, the
   impression from Alimentiveness produced the state of Con-
   sciousness which we  all recognize as hunger, the impres-
   sion was radiated  through  the inter-phreno  senses, and the
   perceptive organs Averethus aroused, particularly the percep-
   tive organ of Flavor.  These perceptive organs being thus ex-
   cited, not by impressions from external objects, but by an im-
   pression from the  central Consciousness, could only send in
   return an impression Avhich Avas but an imperfect repetition
   of a former impression:  this kind of impression is the foun-
   dation of memory; 6. In the case supposed of the hungry
   man, those impressions  from the perceptive organs Avhich
   constitute  memory, only serve  (when  transmitted through
   the inter-phreno senses  and Consciousness  to a propensity
   like Alimentiveness) to  excite it to a still  greater  degree,
   and cause  it to send to Consciousness a still more poAverful
   impression. At length the propensity pours upon Conscious-
   ness such a powerful current of impressions, that Conscious-
   ness can no longer be  relieved by transmitting them through
   the inter-phreno senses to the phreno-organs ; another outlet
   is therefore resorted to ;  7. Under  these circumstances, the
   motor nerves receive impressions or currents, through  Con-
-  sciousness,//-om the phreno-organs.  The motor nerves con-
   vey impressions from the organ of Consciousness to the mus-
   cles ; 8. This produces those contractions  of the  muscles
   Avhich we call voluntary motions, and in the example of the
   hungry man, those motions were directed to food ; taking it,
   putting it into the mouth, tasting it, chewing and SAvallov/ing
   it, and continuing  this operation, until the  stomach ceased
   to send impressions along the nerve to Alimentiveness.
     It will  be  perceived  that, according to  this vieAv, there
   are two modes in which phreno-organs may be excited : one 
152
INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.
is, directly through the  senses, and the other is through
Consciousness.   Thus,  Alimentiveness was excited, first,
by an impression from  the stomach;  and  secondly, by an
impression through Consciousness from the  external senses.
  It would seem, however, that all the phreno-organs are
not capable of being excited in these two Avays ; some
phreno-organs receive no impressions, except through Con-
sciousness ; this is the case Avith the reflective organs, and
most of the higher propensities.  The reflective organs do
not receive any impressions directly from the external Avorld,
but the perceptives receive them and convey them to Con-
sciousness, and from  Consciousness the reflectives receive
the impressions and respond to them.  It may be a question
whether all trains of thought originate  through the external
and the internal-corporeal senses, or whether the brain may
not be sometimes spontaneously excited by operations of its
own, which are only dependent upon the circulation of the
blood.   It  may be, in this respect, analogous to the liver
and other  glands, which are spontaneously excited merely
by the circulation.
  I am decidedly of  this opinion;  it is certain that trains
of thought which originate in bodily conditions, and Avhich
are excited  through the internal-corporeal   senses,  are
continued,  and, by the  aid  of  the principle of Causality
and Comparison, lead to other thoughts which seem to have
no immediate relation to  the  things that  first started the
train of thought.  Thus, a slight toothache  may remind one
of a friend who once had a similar toothache, and  this may
lead  us to think of his Avife,  and then  of her sister, and so
on until our pain is forgotten.
  This theory enables us to  explain the faculty which we
have of  using all the powers of the mind in reverie, when
neither our senses nor our muscles are active.   When we
are at rest,  every muscle  relaxed,  our eyes shut and our
external  senses inactive, though we  are  perfectly awake 
INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.        153
and the mind active upon subjects which are far distant and
events that are long past.   For pfter one phreno-organ has
been excited so as to impress consciousness, this may cause
a long train of spontaneous thought through  the means of
the inter-phreno senses.*   It  also enables us to understand
hoAv it is that thinking on some absent object sometimes
produces a movement of the muscles: thus, thinking of a
beloved child  and  imagining it  falling over  a  precipice
causes an involuntary start  as if to prevent it; thinking of
delicious food causes the mouth  to Avater and move as if in
the act of enjoyment; and so of other corporeal enjoyments.
The explanation is, that Consciousness first received an  im-
pression  from some phreno-organ, which Avhen transmitted
to alimentiveness Avas adapted to excite it  and to cause it
to send an impression to Consciousness with a force which,
increasing in energy, at last forced its  way through the mo-

  *M. Victor Cousin, in his strictures upon Locke, (See Professor
 Henry's translation of  Cousin,  entitled  " Cousin's Elements of
Psychology,") claims much credit for having exposed the deficiency
of Locke's system in relation to spontaneous operations of mind inde-
pendently of external sensation. Locke makes all ideas proceed from
sensation;  and his system has, therefore, been somewhat reproach-
fully denominated the sensual or sensuous system.   He denies the ex-
istence of innate ideas.                            .  .    ,    ,
   Cousin acknowledges that ideas are not innate, but insists that the
 mind has the inherent power of producing ideas which do not come
through sensation.   He contends that sensation occasions the mind to
 evolve ideas which sensation itself could never have produced. Cousin
 charges, that the doctrine of Locke leads to materialism and fatalism
 and claims that his own doctrine is free from this fault.;  but it would
 be csv to show  that Cousin's  doctrine is more directly opposed_to
 revelation  than that of Locke;  for Locke-candidly acknowledges tha
 his  philosophy is imperfect, without  faith  in Diyine  Revelation
 whereas, Cousin  vainly supposes that  he  avoids  this necessity by
 showing that the mind possesses powers and receives ideaswhic  i.are
 independent of sensation.   Cousin does not seem to suspect that there
 may be internal material organs which are capable  of being spon-
 ZLusly active,  or  of being called into  action  "**™«™«
 sensatio^ I have shown this to  be the case, and, of  course, Cosin
 Tocke  and mvself, are   n  the  same  dilemma,—which  forces us
 to admiMhat the tendency of all  human philosophy » *  Material**
 and Fatalism.  The only way of escape is, to admit, aa ith Locke, that
 Divine Revelation is above all philosophy. 
154       INTER-PHRENO  SENSES.

tor  nerves to the muscles and produced  the movement of
 he mouth.  This theory enables us to explain the maimer
in which dreams are produced when the brain is^partially
asleep.   It also shows, that even supposing  it true that
touching a certain part of the head excites ^ Phreno-organ
touched, yet through the inter-phreno senses the excitement
may be so complicated with other parts of the brain as to
render it impossible to draw any correct inference in regard
to  the nature of the organ touched.   The relation of the
inter-phreno senses to  the organ of Consciousness must be
understood in order to fully explain the philosophy of clair-
voyance and of Credencive induction, as the reader will per-
ceive when he  comes to my remarks on those  subjects. 
SECTION   VIII.
                      MOTION.

  It may be said, with truth,  that all motion,  of which
we knoAV, is communicated, and that nothing can be said to
originate motion  but God.   When a  cannon-ball is  set in
motion, where did the motion originate ?   Certainly not in
the ball, nor yet  in the powder.   Philosophers say that the
motion is caused by the sudden and  forcible expansion of
the  poAvder.  Granted; but what caused the poAvder to
expand in this wonderful  manner ?  It is said  that it ex-
pands in consequence  of its sudden  change from a solid
to a gaseous form.  Granted ; but what caused the sudden
change from solid to gas ?  I am told, the application of
heat caused  the  change.   But why ? how? in what way?
on what principle does the application of  heat to a grain of
powder cause it to change from a solid to a gas, and occupy
a million of times more space than it did before ?
  Again, it is not true that the powder occupies more space
than it did before ; that is  impossible.   Every thing, every
atom in existence, requires a certain amount of space, and
has always, and always must, have it.  It is absurd, then,
to say  that the powder, in the gaseous form, occupies more
space than it did in its solid form.   The space which it
occupies is the same.   The constituent atoms of each grain
of the powder may be widely separated  from each  other,
but  they do not, on that account, occupy more space then
when they were associated together in one aggregated lump 
156                  MOTION.

  Now, what separated, in such a forcible and sudden man-
ner, the constituent  atoms of the powder?   What agency
had heat in the operation?  Why could not the separation
take place as well without heat as with it ?   If the motion
in this case was  communicated, from whence was it com-
municated ? Avhat Avas its source ?
  I solve the enigma thus :  the atoms of the powder were
separated from each other by the introduction of Etherium
or caloric between  them.  The  Etherium  was  in motion
before, and only communicated its motion to the  atoms of
powder.   The fire which was applied to the  powder was
the entering wedge  of Etherium, and then the surrounding
Etherium which (although human faculties could not per-
ceive it) was already in motion,  and which previously was
unable to separate the atoms of powder, now, since the fire
commenced it, instantly took this direction, and thus com-
municated its motion and force to the atoms.   The motions
of Etherium are, therefore, the ne plus ultra of human know-
ledge.   It moves and  communicates  its motions to other
things, this is certain ;  but what  is the origin of its motions
we cannpt knoAv.
   We see  the motions of the Avater of the river, and we
say that it is caused by gravitation.  That  gravitation  is a
 tendency of things to move towards the centre of the earth;
that this is related to the motion of the earth upon its axis;
 and this again is caused by the  influence of the sun com-
 municated  to the  earth.   Now, Avhat  communicates  this
 power to the sun, Ave  know not; yet the tides, the winds,
 the waterfalls, the vegetable and animal motions, are com-
 municated  by  the  sun, moon  and other  planets, to  this
 world.  Nothing originates motion within  human know-
 ledge, and nothing  within human knoAvledge can arrest it.
. We see it  passing, but we  never see it  commencing nor
 ending.  Coming and passing  away is written upon the
 whole  universe, and upon every atom  it contains.   The 
MOTION.                   157
animal life of one generation is communicated to the next;
hut, where did it begin? where will it  end ?  Is not this,
too, communicated motion ? Where was it before the earth
was habitable ?  The materials of the first organized beings
existed in the fiery elements of chaos ; and the motions also
existed hut not  on earth in  animated forms.  It  must then
have been first communicated from inanimated forms of this
earth,  or animate forms of some  other  planet.   Which
was it ?
   When two inelastic balls  are discharged from two guns,
in such a manner as to meet and strike each other Avith
equal forces, both balls will be deprived  of force and motion.
Noav what has become of the motion which these two balls
previously contained ?-  It is commonly said to be destroyed,
but this  is impossible and absurd.   We have seen the balls,
powder  and matches lying quietly together, until  a little
friction of the   match called  into existence a tremendous
force.  It is met by another equal force, and instantly both
forces go  out  of existence !   Is this so ? have the  forces
actually gone out of existence? or are  they not rather com-
municated ?  But, you inquire, to what can they be com-
municated ?  I  answer, to  the surrounding Etherium from
whence  they originally received it.
   If the two balls are perfectly elastic,  instead of their force
being destroyed, they will  rebound from each other Avith a
 force  nearly equal to that Avith which they advanced to-
 wards each other.   Why is this difference ?  What is there
 in the nature of elasticity which enables it to prevent force
Vfrom being destroyed ?  or Avhat is there to prevent it from
 being communicated to the surrounding Etherium ?   The
 solution of this problem depends upon an explanation of the
 causes of elasticity.  What, then, are the causes of elasti-
 city ?   Philosophers have never  ansAvcred  this question.
 They have contented  themselves with  defining elasticity
 Avithout attempting to explain its  causes.   They define 
158
MOTION.
elasticity to be the inherent property of some bodies, when
compressed, of returning to their original form.  If I might
be permitted to suggest an explanation of elasticity, I Avould
say that it is caused by  the affinity which  some bodies
possess for Etherium ; and when compression forcesUt out, it
has a tendency to return Avith a force equal to the "force of
the elasticity which it manifests.
  Applying this theory to the two cannon-balls : when one
is struck, its Etherium is  forced out, and its tendency to
return is equal to the force with which it re-acts and re-
bounds ; the same  being true  of the other, they both re-
bound.
  But when two inelastic balls meet, the Etherium which is
forced out, having no affinity for the lead, and no  tendency
to return, the balls cannot rebound, but fall to the earth per-
pendicularly in obedience to gravitation.
  The existence of a substance must be admitted, Avhich com-
municates motion ; a power different  from any material sub-
stance which Ave can see or know by our' senses—a power
independent of all  human control. This is proved by the
effect of a magnet upon  iron, when partitions of the  most
solid  substances  intervene,—bricks, boards, glass, stone,
water, &c, which  prevent the  passage  of  all other sub-
stances,  solid, liquid, or gaseous ; yet, through all these it
moves with perfect ease,  and without any apparent dimi-
nution of its power.
  Light passes through glass, water, air and other trans-
parent substances with scarcely  any obstruction,  and pro-
duces all  its effects almost  as if no  obstacle  whatever had
interposed.
  The planets influence each other and the earth; this could
not be, as they are not in contact, unless  there were some
connecting medium.  The  inevitable conclusion therefore
is, that there is a connecting medium. 
MOTION.
159
  The influence of  the  planets upon each  other is exactly
in proportion to their size.
  This  proves that the influence, whatever it is, proceeds
from the constituent atoms of each, to the constituent atoms
of the other; and therefore, that the  power by which pne
planet influences another must be almost infinitely divisible
and of a chemico-galvanic nature.
  The influence of planets  upon each other is diminished
by distance.   This  proves that a part of the force is com-
municated to other particles on its passage—also, that there
is a  limit to  the extent of the influence.
   A  magnet  may  reproduce  itself upon  another piece of
iron, by communicating  its  own motions to it, and after-
wards by  a blow or  stroke of lightning lose its own pe-
culiar power and die.
  A chrystal will reproduce forms like its  own, and under pro-
per circumstances a vegetable will do  the same, and so will
an animal.  All motions, wherever they emanate, have a ten-
dency to communicate  and  propagate themselves.   When
two bodies come in contact, one or both being in motion,
the superior will impart and  the inferior will receive motion,
and so far  as the inferior receives motion  it sympathizes.
In this sense, it may  be  said  that that  every thing  in ex-
istence sympathizes with every  other, since they  all de-
rive their motions from the same source, though so modified
by the  medium that they  can  scarcely be  said to  be the
same.  In this sense  every  thing in  existence may be said
to sympathize with the first  cause and prime mover of all
things.
   1. The motions of Etherium from the sun proceed from the
constituent particles of  the sun,  and  not  from its whole
mass.  We may, reasoning from analogy with the earth, in-
fer that the sun is composed of different substances, metals,
gasses, &c, and each  of these of different kinds  and in
 different  conditions, 
160
MOTION.
   2.  The motion of Etherium is  modified by the substances
from which it is communicated.  The Etherium, when it leaves
 the sun, is in different motions according to the substances
 from Avhich it emanates, and Avhen it reaches this earth it
 will produce different effects accordingly.
   3.  The motion of Etherium produces different effects upon
 different substances with which it comes in contact on the
 earth;  and  here is another source of variety.  If motion
 meets with no obstructions in coming  from the sun to  the
 earth, it Avill,  of course, communicate the  same  motions
 Avith Avhich it  emanated, especially if it  come in contact
 with the  same kind  of substances on earth:  in this case,
 the earth may be said to sympathize with the sun.
   Sympathy means same motion, same feeling, same condition
 —and Avhen one thing  produces  sympathy in another,  it is
 because it is superior, and therefore capable of communicat-
 ing its  oAvn motions to  the substance of an inferior, Avhich
 cannot resist it.
   In this sense,  when  a magnet attracts  iron  filings,  and
 makes  a temporary  magnet of each separate piece of iron,
 is not this sympathy ?
   When  a magnet points north and  south, is it  not be-
 cause the motions of the earth's  magnetism are communi-
 cated to it, and produce sympathy  or same-motion ?   When
 a magnet whi h  is pointing north  and south is brought
 within the sphere  of  action  of  a galvanic battery,  and
 changes its dire t en  t) conform to the battery, is it not be-
 cause the motions are  communicated  from  the battery to
 the magnet ?   The same motions—the  sympathy ?
   When th>   same moti ns—the  same  kind  of motions,
 whether simultaneous or not, are  performed by two bodies,
 one of two things may be  inferred—either that they are
 both set in  motion by a third body, or  else, that  one  con-
 tains within itself the cause  of its own motion, and that it
 communicates motion also to the other. 
MOTION.
161
  W hen one  thing communicates motion to another, there
must be  either contactor connection.   If contact, then the
motion must be communicated first to the part in immediate
contact,  and  from that to the other parts more remote
afterwards.  If connection is the means,  then there must be
a connecting medium—a  connecting substance—a connect-
ing material, Avhich is capable of being itself set in motion
by the superior, and of communicating motion to the inferior.
  The effects  of the motion communicated will generally
be less  powerful in proportion to the resistance which it en-
counters ; and the resistance will depend upon several cir-
cumstances, such as distance, material, counter-motions, eye.
S 
SECTION  IX.
      TRIUNE SYSTEM OF  PHRENOLOGY.

   This system of Phrenology is so peculiar, and so different
from the  system of Spurzheim,  and the allusions- to the
subject in this work are so frequent, that for the benefit of
those wh,o ma}/ do me  the  honor to read this  Avork, but
who  have -not previously perused  my  " New  System  of
Phrenology,'''' I will give a brief outline of it in this place.


                    OUTLINE.
   Phrenology, or rather phreno-physiology, is the science
of mind, founded upon  a knowledge of  the structure and
functions of the human constitution in general, and the brain
in particular.
   The human constitution is composed of six general sys-
tems  of organs, upon  the relative development and perfec-
tion of which the character and talents are dependent.   The
predominance of one of these systems constitutes a peculiar
temperament.
   Size  is a  measure  of power,  all else  equal.   In order,
therefore, to  knoAv the power of organs, we must first know
their size.

   Size is a measure of power, but not of correctness of mind.   This
is an important distinction which no writer upon phrenology seems
to  have made.   A man may think, or feel, or act, correctly, but not
powerfully.  The tOAvn clock may operate Avith a degree of power
in  proportion to  its size, and may be heard throughout a Avhole 
PHRENOLOGY.
163
city, thus exercising an extensive influence ; and yet a small watch
may excel it in point of correctness.  So a small man Avith a small
head, may excel in correctness a large man with a large head, on
account of a more perfect proportion and cultivation of his poAvers.

  A professional examination should commence with an es-
timation of
The Size of the whole Constitution, compared with the
  constitutions of other persons of the same  age  and sex
  and race.

                 TEMPERAMENTS.
  The next consideration is, the relative size and condition
of
                THE BODILY  SYSTEMS.
    The Osseous System, or system of bones, constitutes
       the frame, to which all the other organs are attached,
1 ■  {   and  combined with an uncommon development of
    The Muscular System, tends to produce strength of
       body, and  slow motions of mind and body.
2.  The Nervous System, (including the brain,) tends  to
    produce activity and sensitiveness," without reference
    to strength, thus antagonizing the muscular system.
  The three following systems tend to modify the opera-
tions of the three preceding, by  causing vigor, endurance,
or  indolence.
3.  The Digestive  System,  fends to produce moderation,
    indolence and sedentary habits.
4.  The Arterial  System, including  the lungs^ tends  to
    produce vigor,  industry and  a love of varied exercise
    of mind and body.
5.  The Venous  System, being  the magazine  of surplus
    blood, tends to produce long continued action of mind
    and body, without reference to energy or vigor.
  In accordance with these principles  I usually reckon five
Temperaments, viz. : the Muscular, the Nervous, the Di-
gestive, the Arterial and the Venous. 
PHRENOLOGICAL  bust.
  The location of the three classes is indicated in the above engraving
by three kinds of numeral  figures.  On the side of the head, from I
to XII, are  the  Ipseals; at the back and  top, from 1st to 12th, are
the Socials; and in front, from 1 to 15, are the Intellectuals. 
PHRENOLOGY.
165
                      IPSEALS.

   PROPENSITIES WHICH WERE DESIGNED FOR THE BENEFIT
                         OF SELF.


                   CORPOREAL RANGE.
 I.  Pneumativeness—the  propensity to breathe.   When
   not gratified it  produces the feeling of .suffocation.   Its
   deficiency tends to produce sedentary habits.  Its abuse—
   so much exercise  in  the open  air as to  disqualify for
   study and reflection.
 H. Alimentiveness—propensity to eat—produces the feel-
   ing of hunger or thirst.  Its  abuse—gluttony and drunk-
   enness.   Its deficiency produces neglect of nourishment.
 III.  Sanativeness—propensity to  preserve  soundness  of
   body.   Produces the feeling of  bodily pain.  Abuse—
   unnecessary attention to trifling ails.  Deficiency—neglect
   of personal  comforts and health.

  Just under Combativeness and behind Sanativeness, in the cor-
poreal range, there is, in my  opinion, an organ of Excretiveness;
and it is generally large upon  those who seem to delight in vulgar
and filthy language, and small on those who are extremely fastidi-
ous.  I suspect that the front  part of Secretiveness, near where it
is connected Avith Alimentiveness, is an organ of Luminativeness,
or the love of  light; and in this  region there are  also, probably,
several other organs relating to the corporeal wants; such as cold,
warmth, &c, but nothing definite has been as yet ascertained  con-
cerning them.   It is probable that all the corporeal propensities are
compound.

                 CARNIVOROUS RANGE.
IV.  Destructiveness—propensity to destroy.   It produces
  the feeling of anger or  wrath.  Abuse—revenge, cruelty,
  severity, murder.  Deficiency—too much gentleness. 
166              PHRENOLOGY.

V.  CoMBATiVENESs-the  propensity to  contend, oppose,
  fight, dispute.   FeeKng-veseniment, hostility.   Abuse-
  improper contentions and disputes.    Defictency-^s-
  position to contend, even for justice.

                 HERBIVOROUS RANGE.
VI.  SECRETivENESs-to  conceal,  to secrete, to  act indi-
  rectly.   Fee/i^-suspicion.*  ^use-deceit, falsehood.
  Deficiency—-too much openness and directness.
VII.  Cautiousness—propensity to avoid coming danger.
   Feeling—few, apprehension.  Abuse—cowardice, panic,
   fright.   Deficiency—carelessness and recklessness.  The
   manifestations of Cautiousness are often confounded with
   those of Sanativeness.
                   RODENTIA RANGE
VIII.  Constructiveness—to construct, build, manufacture.
   Feeling—love  of  the  mechanical.  Abuse—unnecessary
   and  foolish structures.  Deficiency—inattention to con-
   struction and to structural philosophy.
 IX.  Acquisitiveness---propensity to  acquire  property.
   Feeling—-love  of  wealth.   Abuse—avarice,  penurious-
   ness, theft.  Deficiency—profuseness, neglect of property.

                     HUMAN RANGE.
   I think that the " organ of Tune" should be called Tunefulness;
 that it is an Ipseal propensity of the Human range, and that  it is
 not an intellectual faculty, as it has hitherto  been supposed to he.
 If  this is admitted, we can  understand why it is that  so many are
 fond of music who have very little ability to make it, or  even to
 judge concerning its merits; for a propensity  does not directly give
 ability, but only a  disposition.
 X. Playfulness, or Mirthfylness, or Wit—to act in  sport.
  * Our language is deficient in terms adequate to express some of
the states of Consciousness produced by propensities. 
PHRENOLOGY.
167
  Feeling—mirth,  fun.   Abuse—sport  on improper occa-
  sions.  Deficiency—neglect of useful sport.
XI. Perfectiveness, or Ideality—to improve and perfect.
  Feeling—love of the beautiful.  Abuse—ornament to the
  neglect of the useful.   Deficiency—neglqct  of the  fine
  arts and of improvement.
XII. Hopefulness, or Hope—to act as if  future enjoyment
  is certain.   Feeling—contentment, cheerfulness, gaiety,
  hope.  Abuse—unreasonable anticipations of enjoyment.
  Deficiency—despondency and melancholy.  This  is often
  confounded  with exuberant  animation Avhich depends
  upon health.
                    SOCIALS.
  propensities which were designed to produce and
                    benefit society.

                ESTABLISHING GROUP.
1st. Amativeness—to propagate  the species.  Feeling—
  amorousness. Abuse—licentious indulgence.  Deficiency—
  inattention to the opposite sex, want of gallantry.
2d.  Parentiveness, or Philoprogenitiveness—to take care
  of the young.  Feeling—parental  love.  Abuse—improper
  indulgence of children.  Deficiency—neglect of the young.
3d.  Inhabitiveness, or Concentrativeness—to  fix on  some
  spot for a permanent residence.   Feeling—amor patriae,
  or love  of country, homesickness.    Abuse—prejudice
  against other countries, too limited  views of patriotism.
  Deficiency—roving.
4th. Adhesiveness—-To form connections and attachments
  to parents and  friends.  Feeling—friendship.   Abuse—
  improper connections.  Deficiency—neglect of friends.
                  GOVERNING GROUP.
5th.  Imperativeness, or Self-Esteem—to command, to take
  the lead  in society, to assume  superiority.  Feeling— 
168
PHRENOLOGY.
  dignity,  pride,   self-esteem.    Abuse—superciliousness,
  haughtiness, arrogance.   Deficiency—Avant  of dignity,
  independence.
6th.  Approbativeness—to act in a popular and agreeable
  manner, to gain the esteem and applause  of others.  Feel-
  ing—love  of praise,  admiration,  distinction.   Abuse—
  foppishness, coquetry,  vanity, improper  attempts  to  ac-
  quire notoriety.  Deficiency—indifference to the opinions
  of others.
7th. Firmness—to maintain the position or authority which
  we have assumed in relation to others.   Feeling—deter-
  mination.  Abuse—obstinacy, infatuation.   Deficiency—
  too much influenced by others.  This is often confounded
  with combativeness.
8th.  Conscientiousness—to  act justly.    Feeling—con-
  scious  integrity, moral sense, remorse.  Abuse—improper
  self-condemnation,  useless  remorse.   Deficiency—dis-
  honesty.
                 CONFORMING GROUP.
  All of the conforming Socials should be carefully  studied, in
order to come to a right  understanding of the Conforming, Sub-
missive, Imitative, Sympathizing and Credencive  dispositions gene-
rally exhibited by inducted subjects.

&th. Submissiveness, or Reverence, or  Veneration—to sub-
  mit, to condescend, to yield to  superior poAver, wisdom,
  or  merit.   Feeling—reverence,  veneration,  adoration.
  Abuse—servility, slavishness, false worship.   Deficiency
  —a want of proper respect  and  obedience.
10th.  Kindness, or Benevolence—to gratify  the feelings  of
  others.   Feeling—pity, compassion.  Abuse—indiscrimi-
  nate and improper kindness.  Deficiency—indifference  to
  the feelings of others.
11th.  Imitativeness, or Imitation—to imitate the examples,
  precepts and  operations  of others  whom we  respect.' 
PHRENOLOGY.                169
  Feeling—sympathy.  Abuse—irreverent mimicry, or ser-
  vile copying.  Deficiency—indifference to the manners of
  others.
12th.   Credenciveness,  or  Marvelousness,  or  Wonder.—
  to act upon the testimony of others, and especially those
  whom we respect.   Feeling—curiosity, wonder, marvel-
  ousness.   Abuse—superstition, credulity.    Deficiency—
  skepticism, and a want of what is sometimes called imagi-
  nation.
               INTELLECTUALS.


                      PERCEPTIVES.
 1.  Individuality—or Perception of individual things, Avith-
   out reference to their relations.  Memory  of individual
   facts.
   1 am altogether dissatisfied with  the explanations usually given
 of Individuality.  I cannot help thinking that it is a mere concen-
 tration of the radicals of the lowest intellectual organs, and that it
 is thus auxiliary to, and intimately connected Avith, the organ of
 Consciousness.   The explanations  of this organ by phrenologians
 seem to me perfectly illogical and  unfounded.  Although  I have
 followed, in some degree, the example of Spurzheim in the defini-
 tion Avhich I have given it in my Avork on phrenology, and also in this
 outline, yet 1 am convinced that we have  all been in  the Avrong,
 and that  the only thing certain concerning it is, that  when large
 it indicates a tendency or ability to take notice of things without re-
ference to their relations.

 2. Flavor—Perception  of odors  and savors.   Memory of
   odors and savors.   Talent for distinguishing the flavor of
   food, drink, perfumes and chemical substances.
 3.  Sound, or Language—Perception of sounds.  Memory
   of  words.  Talent for learning languages.
               8* 
170              PHRENOLOGY.
  I have perfectly satisfied my OAvn  mind, that Avhat has hitherto
been called the organ  of Language, is  merely a  perception and
memory of sounds; and that it is related to language just as far as
sounds are related to language, and no farther.  (See on this sub-
ject Locke's Essay on the Understanding.)
4. Form—Perception of the  forms of bodies.  Memory  of
  forms and faces.  Talent for drawing forms, &c.
  I am in much doubt, but on the Avhole, am inclined to think that
Form and Size should'not be considered as separate powers of mind.

5. Size, or Extension—Perception of distance, space, size.
  Memory of size and  distance.   Talent for  perspective
  drawing, landscapes, &c.
6. Weight—Perception of equilibrium, gravitation, force,
  momentum, resistance.   Memory of weight, &c.   Talent
  for balancing, and applying force in a skillful and delicate
  manner.
7. Color—Perception of hues,  tints and shades of color.
   Memory of color.   Talent for  painting, dyeing, &c.
8. Order—Perception of arrangement.  Mem or y of arrange-
  ment.    Talent for arranging and keeping things in order.
9. Number—Perception of plurality, or number.  Memory
  of numbers.   Talent for  arithmetical  calculation.   Com-
  bined with the Reilectives, it bestows the talent for math-
  ematics.
10-  Direction, or Locality—Perception of the direction of
  objects.  Memory of the  poiirts of the compass.   Talent
  for navigation.
  This is, by all other writers upon phrenology, called the organ
of Locality, but I call it the organ of Direction, as this seems to me
more simple and more in harmony with truth.   {See my lamer
work on Phrenology.)

11.  Eventuality, or Action—Perception of the  action  of
  things.   Memory of transactions, anecdotes  and histories.
   Talent for History. 
PHRENOLOGY.
171
12.  Time—Perception of the duration  of time.   Memory of
   intervals and (combined  Avith Number) memory of dates.
   Talent for chronology, and keeping time in music, danc-
   ing, marching,  &c.
13.  Tune or  Tunefulness—Perception o£ the pitch of sound.
   Memory of tune, the foundation of the  Talent for  Music.

   1 am certain that tune should not be considered an intellectual
faculty.   Some  of  the properties which have been hitherto attri-
buted to it, belong to tlie organ of Sound or Language ; other proper-
ties belong to order, Avhich gives a perception  of arrangement  or
succession of sounds, as it does of other things; other properties,
to Comparison and  Causality, which give a perception of harmony,
relation, connection, mutual dependence, &c.; while this organ
gives the mere  impulsive propensity to direct or use the intellectual
faculties in a tuneful manner, just as Constructiveness impels them
to attend  to mechanical ideas.  All practical phrenologians have
been forced to admit that they cannot arrive at a correct judgment
concerning the musical talents of any person, by examining their
developments.  They have  long since given  up all pretence of tell-
ing a person's musical character by his head; at the same time, they
are all sure that this part  of the head is in some way related to
music.   I  hope that I have discovered the difficulty, and removed
it.  In this outline,  I have retained the arrangement and definitions
of the organs, as they are in my Avork on phrenology, choosing to
explain myself in these notes,  for the present, and give my views
more at large in a new edition of my larger work on phrenology,
which will hereafter be published.

                      REFLECTIVES.*
14.  Comparison, or Classification—Perception of the resem-
   blances,  differences and classes  of  things.   Memory  of
   resemblances,  and classes.   Talent for classification, for
   figurative language, and for analogical reasoning.

   * It is not strictly logical  to call these reflective organs,  it would
have been better to call them combining organs or combining percep-
fcives, but it is perhaps too late now to correct the error. 
172
PHRENOLOGY.
15.  Causality, or Connection—Perception  of dependence,
  connection, cause and effect.   Memory of general conclu-
  sions  and  results.   Talent for  logical  reasoning, and
  original imrention.
                   NUMBERS.


   Most phrenologians use numerical figures to express the
size of the organs, and, if correctly done, it is undoubtedly
the best  way.  Some adopt 9k as a medium number, and,
then,  of  course, 20 stands for the  highest, and 1  for the
lowest degree of development.   I prefer to  adopt 5 as a
medium number, and, therefore,  9 stands  for the highest,
and 1  for the lowest degree of development.  If a head
were perfectly formed, and all the organs equally developed,
every organ should  be numbered 5 ; and, as  there are 39
organs, the sum of all their numbers would be 5 times 39,
or 195.   We cannot number any  more above medium than
we do below, for no organ can be large  without being so at
the expense of others.  If an organ is marked 6, some other
must be  marked 4, and whatever be the form or size of
the head, the sum of all the numbers must be 195, or the
examination is incorrect.   It is like dividing $195 among
39 men ;  it would be $5 each ; and if we give more than
$5 to one man, some one  or more of the others must re-
ceive less.
  Simple and undeniable as this rule is, it has hjtherto been
either unknown or totally disregarded by all practical phre-
nologians.  It is common to see a chart  in which nearly all
the organs are marked higher than the medium number •  a
practice which, however complimentary it may seem to the 
PHRENOLOGY.
173
subject,  is perfectly absurd, and renders  the  chart Avorse
than useless.
   In  Capen's life of Spurzheim, we are presented with a
chart of his  head, taken  by Mr.  George Combe and Mr.
Walter Todd, in Avhich 20 was adopted as a maximum, and
the number of organs examined was 35.  The sum of  all
the numbers, therefore, could have been only 332i, if they
had proceeded correctly ;  but they have made it amount to
581.   All American practitioners, following the example of
Mr. Combe, have been led into the same error into which
he has fallen.
   It should be remembered that the  numbers express only
the relative size of the organs in the same individual, with-
out reference to other persons.   Two men may have their
organs numbered precisely alike, and yet one head may  be
a third larger than the other ;  one may be  a man of extra-
ordinary  talent and energy,  while the other is  far below
mediocrity, on account of the small size of his head.
   In order to make a just  comparison of one individual with
others, Ave must ascertain  the size of the whole constitution,
compared with others of  the same age, sex and race. All
else equal, the largest constitution will manifest the most
force, both of body and mind.
   The brain is the  organ of the  mind$ and, all else equal,
the largest brain will manifest the most power.  We, there-
fore, ascertain the size of  the brain, compared with  the rest
of the body,  for  if the  whole constitution is above the
medium size, and then the head is disproportionately large,
nothing more is wanting to constitute true natural greatness
but a  favorable proportion of the parts.
  The above remarks  concerning numbers were written and pub-
lished in 1840, and yet  the charts made by all the " practical phren-
ologists" in this country, are still made in the old way.   None of
them pretend to justify it; but such is their unfortunate selfishness,
that they  prefer to  commit the most palpable outrages upon com- 
174
PHRENOLOGY.
mon sense and mathematics, rather than to admit that they have
been so long in error, and that one whose success excites their hos-
tility, has induced them to reform for the credit of the science and
the good of  their patrons.
  Perhaps the reason that none have adopted this method is, that
it  is more difficult, and requires more accurate examination.  It
does not alloAv of such egregious flattery and  deception as their
method, since they cannot mark one organ high without doing so
at the expense of some other.
  If any one, who has a chart made by one of them, will take the
trouble to examine it, he will find that they have assumed a certain
number for  average or mean, and then, with flattering falsehood,
have proceeded to mark nearly all (in some cases all) the organs
above the average.
   They all agree that, in estimating the size of any organ  of the
brain, they  compare it with' the other organs  of the same  brain;
this being so, they cannot  possibly justify themselves; they are
fairly  chargeable  either with dishonesty, or  with unpardonable
stupidity.
 general  summary of  the  philosophy of the triune
                 system of  phrenology.
 . 1. The Nervous System maybe divided into the ganglio-
nic  and the  Phrenic.  The  principal  distinction  in the
modus operandi of the two systems, depends upon the fact
that the Phrenic system (or in other words the voluntary
system) has  a central organ  of Consciousness, while the
ganglionic  system  has  not.   Phreno-organs  are  merely
ganglions connected with  Consciousness, and ganglions are
merely propensities  to produce muscular action.   Volun-
tary and involuntary actions are both  produced by similar
apparatuses, except that one has a common centre, through
which each organ of that  system is compelled  to operate •
while  the  organs of  the  other system (the involuntary or 
PHRENOLOGY.              175
ganglionic), are not under the necessity of preserving unity
of action, nor of producing Consciousness.

  2. Ordinary sleep is  caused by the temporary predomi-
nance of the ganglionic system over the phrenic.

  3. The organ of Consciousness is located  in the medulla
oblongata,  where it receives  impressions  from  Phreno-
organs,  and transmits or radiates the impressions  which
it receives to other  Phreno-organs, or else to the  motor
nerves, or  to both, according  to  circumstances.  When it
transmits impressions to phreno-organs, it receives other im-
pressions in return,and thus trains of thought are produced.
But when  it transmits  impressions to the  motor nerves,
voluntary muscular motion  is  produced, such  as tends to
gratify those phreno-organs in which  the movements origi-
nated.

  4. Each Phreno-organ has fibres, (inter-phreno senses,)
which convey or conduct  impressions from  Consciousness,
as well  as  fibres which conduct impressions to Conscious-
ness.

  5. Consciousness and the lowest intellectual organs were
superadded to  the  ganglionic system, by the  Creator, to
enable animals  (when in  the  scale of created beings they
were elevated above mere vegetables)  to act with reference
to objects Avhich are not  in  contact with their organs,
though the objects desired may be within reach, so as to be
obtained by muscular movements.

  6. Reflection and memory depend  upon  the higher  in-
tellectual organs,  such as  the lowest animals  do  not possess.
These  higher organs of  intellect were  superadded  to the
loAver, and  bestowed upon the higher animals and man, to
enable them to act  reasonably, with  reference to the past
and future—the distant and absent—and all other  things 
176               phrenology.
 which concern us, but which are so far separated from us by
 space and  time as to be beyond the range  of our present
 perceptions.

   7. Memory depends upon the reflective organs, in an im-
 portant  degree, because, they combine, connect,  class and
 associate ideas and feelings ; but the materials remembered
 are furnished, to Consciousness and reflection, by the other
 organs of the brain.

   8.  Ideas,  thoughts,  emotions,  or feelings, are only so
 many states or conditions of Consciousness, which are de-
 signed to prepare and qualify the  conscious being  to act
 with propriety.

   9.  When one phreno-organ, from any cause, sends to Con-
 sciousness a more powerful current of Etherium than any
 other, it produces an effect  which is in accordance, with the
 established laAvs of mechanics as  applied to other forces;
 that is,  it  causes  every opposing current to conform or be
 neutralized.
   10.  The phreno-organs may be divided into Intellectuals,
 or those  that direct  actions ; and Propensities that originate
 actions.  The Propensities may  be divided into  Ipseal, or
 those that Avere designed for the benefit of self; and Social,
 or those  that were designed for the benefit of others.   The
 brain is  thus constituted  of three  Classes  of organs ;  viz.,
 Ipseal, Social  and Intellectual.    By the  connecting  and
 concentrating nature of the organ of Consciousness, these
 three classes of organs act  in harmony and  preserve  their
unity ; I  therefore call this,  the Triune system, or Three-one
system, to  distinguish  it  from the system  of Spurzheim,
which all other phrenologians follow.

   11. Organs that perform  analogous functions have con-
tiguous locations ;  and this fact is the basis of their classifi- 
PHRENOLOGY.               177
cation.   Organs that are  lowest in the brain, and nearest
the median  line of the head, are lowest in the  scale, and
manifested  by the  least perfect animals ; this fact is the
basis of the arrangement of the organs that belong to the
same  class.   Among the Ipseals, those  nearest  the  front
mesial line, and nearest the base of .the brain, are lowest in
the scale.
   The Ipseal  organs are grouped together on the side of the
head.   The Socials are extended in a connected chain from
the loAvest back of the head to the upper front.   The Intel-
lectuals  are all grouped in the forehead.   [See  the En-
graving.]

   12.  The  order in which the organs are successively de-
\-eloped and superadded  to each other, when considered in
connection with the Triune classification, is, in my opinion,
superior in  scientific beauty to anything in the whole range
of human knowledge.
   It is a curious and interesting fact, that the superadditions
of organs in the human brain harmonize Avith the superaddi-
tions of the geological strata, and the gradually increasing
intelligence and complexity of animals  from  the  lower to
the higher strata.   It is also a curious fact that the develop-
ment  of the  brain during its embryotic growth, is  by  a
series of similar superadditions.  In the first stages of its
growth, it resembles that of the loAVer animals.   In the neAV
born infant, the head resembles  that of an  ape, and  it con-
 tinues to expand  in  the higher regions until the individual
 attains maturity.

   13. If we trace  the order in Avhich the Intellectual organs
 are developed, we find, at the  base, in the mesial line, the
 organs possessed by the very  lowest animals.  The farther
 Ave proceed from this point, either laterally or upAvards, the
 higher is the nature of the organ, and the higher the destiny 
178               PHRENOLOGY.
of the animal possessing it in an uncommon degree.   Caus-
ality being the most lateral organ of the highest  range, is,
according to this rule, the highest in its  nature ; and it is
possessed, in a great degree, only by man.  [See the  En-
graving.]

   14. In the development of Ipseals  the same order may
be traced.   It will be perceived more readily if Ave make a
drawing  of the Ipseal class of each hemisphere,  and place
the two hemispheres together in such a way, that the most
frontal organs of each side shall come in contact, just as the
intellectuals do in the medium 1 ine :  let Pneumativeness of
the right side be brought forward until it meets Pneumative-
ness of  the  left side; and let Playfulness of the  right side
meet in contact with Playfulness of the left.  We  shall now
perceive  that the same order is exhibited in the arrangement
of the Ipseals as in the other classes Avhich border upon the
medium line ; that is, the  organs nearest to the frontal line,
and also nearest to the base, are lowest in the scale.   Ac-
cording to this rule, Pneumativeness is the lowest, and Hope-
fulness the highest organ of this  class.   The  other organs
hold a rank  which is indicated by  the figures on  the en-
graving of the head.

   15. We find the organ of the lowest social propensity at
the lowest  part of the back of the head; the second im-
mediately above it; the third above  the  second ; and the
fourth developed laterally  from the second and third, like
the branch of a tree from the main trunk ;  the fifth is above
the third, and is a  continuation of the  main  trunk; the
sixth is a branch of the fifth ; the seventh is a continuation
of the main  trunk, and the eighth a branch ; the  ninth is a
continuation, and the tenth a completion of the main trunk •
the eleventh  and  twelfth  are  the highest  branches; the
twelfth is manifested  clearly by- man only.  The  whole 
PHRENOLOGY.
179
  classification and arrangement of the three classes very much
  resembles three trees planted at different points, Avith their
  branches regularly shooting forth, and their topmost boughs
  intertwined harmoniously—they are  closely connected, but
  should not be confounded together.

    16.  The  lowest  range of Ipseals and  the two lowest
  Socials, have this  peculiarity, that  they  receive  stimuli
  from the body directly through the internal-corporeal senses,
  while all the other and higher propensities  receive all their
„ stimuli indirectly through Consciousness.
    The perceptives  receive stimuli directly through the ex-
  ternal senses, but the reflectives receive  all their  stimuli
  indirectly through Consciousness.

    17. The  Ipseal propensities  are  subdivided  into  five
  ranges,  which  correspond with different  classes  of  ani-
  mals ; this subdivision is not very important, nor very ex-
  act, but it is convenient and useful ; and, to a naturalist,
  must be highly interesting.

    18. The  Socials  are  subdivided  into the organs that
  establish society—the organs that govern society—and the
  organs that  conform to  society.  This  subdivision is ex-
  tremely useful  and important in its bearing upon the ex-
  periments and phenomena of Etheropathy.

    19. It  will be observed  that the explanation which  I
  have given of the Temperaments, is very different from that
  usually given, especially that which ascribes to the venous
  system the power of giving continuity of action.   My doc-
  trine is, that the predominance in size  of the  bones and
  muscles  produces  the muscular temperament—this is the
  temperament of strength and slowness.   The predominance
  of the brain and nerves produces the nervous  temperament
  —the temperament of activity and sensitiveness.   The pre- 
180
PHRENOLOGY.
dominance of the digestive system produces the digestive
or indolnt temperament.   The predominance of the arterial
system and lungs produces the arterial or sanguine tempera-
ment.  The predominance  of the venous system produces
the venous or bilious temperament.   I belieAre that I am the
first to suggest this  venous temperament, and I am happy
to know that it has been approved by some of the most dis-
tinguished Physiologists. 
SECTION  X.
                 ETHEROPATHY.

  The spontaneous  phenomena and the  experiments in
Etheropathy, including all those performed by Mr. Sunder-
land and Drs.  Elliotson, Braid, Buchanan,  Caldwell and
others, may all be explained by the application of the fol-
lowing principles:
1.  Imperfect isolation of the subject, exposing him to abnor-
  mal induction, both spontaneous  and artificial.
2.  Will of operator producing induction.
3.  Credencive induction, or self-induction.
4.  Sympathy produced by induction.
5.  Clairvoyance,  or  un-isolated and  un-restricted percep-
  tion produced by induction.
6.  Deranged function produced by abnormal induction ; this
  principle, combined Avith  the  principles above mentioned
  of  will,  sympathy,  credence  and  clairvoyance, account
  for  all  the phenomena,  and  explain  all  the experi-
  ments.
   1.   Imperfect isolation, exposing the subject to induction.
The terms isolation  and induction are borrowed  from  the
science of Electricity.   The word isolation or insulation is
used  in this Avork to signify the peculiar  structure or con-
dition of the organs of man and  animals, which is designed
to protect them from the influence of surrounding and exter-
nal currents of Etherium.   This principle  of isolation is
absolutely necessary to protect the organs from the  undue 
182              ETHEROPATHY.

influence of abnormal currents by which we are continually
surrounded.—(See Cuvier's Lectures on Physiology.)   The
numberless nerves are continually conveying impressions in
all  directions throughout  the whole  constitution.   Some-
times we find different functions performed by nerves which
are so near to each other that no anatomical skill can point
out the precise line of separation, and yet it can be proved
by the most decisive experiments that one of  the  nerves
conveys a motion of Etherium in one direction, while another
conveys motion in the opposite direction, and notwithstand-
ing their contiguity, there is no interference.
  Just as two contiguous rail-road tracks admit of the pas- -
sage of cars in opposite directions without jostling or colli-
sion, so do  these nerves convey the motions of Etherium in
opposite  directions.
  In common electric  experiments, the wires can be made
to convey electricity in opposite directions, even though the
Avires are in contact, provided they are coated with glass,
resin, varnish, or shellac ; but if  the isolating varnish is re-
moved,  the currents interfere with each  other,  and  the
weaker currents become neutralized or modified  by  the in-
duction of the more  powerful currents.
  Induction is a term which signifies the communication of
motion from one body to another, or from one organ to anoth-
er; thus, when a current of electricity is communicated from
a body which possesses it, to one which does not, the motion
or current in the latter is said to be induced or inducted, and
the process is called induction.
  If a large magnet or  a galvanic battery is brought  near a
small mariner's compass, the compass needle is immediately
affected by induction ;  that  is, the current of electricity is
communicated from the large magnet to the needle.
   Thus we have seen that the object of isolation is to pre-
vent induction ; and what we do in an imperfect manner by
human skill in a galvanic apparatus, nature does Avith won-
derful perfection in organized bodies. 
ETHEROPATHY.              183
   The Susceptibility of the subject depends upon  two
conditions ; first, the weakness of the currents of Etherium
evolved in the capillaries ; second, the imperfection or weak-
ness of the isolation.
   Some  organs  are susceptible, while others are not;—the
reason is that some organs are more perfectly isolated, or
else they evolve  more  poAverful  currents of  Etherium.
Some organs are susceptible to one operator but  not to an-
other.  ■ There seems to be a natural tendency of the organs
of the operator  to  induct the corresponding  organs of the
subject:  Combativeness in  operator to induce its own cur-
rent in Combativeness of the subject; Sanativeness of opera-
tor to induct  Sanativeness of the subject, and so of all the
other organs both of mind and body; this kind of induction is
denominated  sympathy  or same condition.
   If, therefore, Sanativeness is large in the subject, and small
in the operator,  it would be difficult for that operator to in-
duct that organ,  though he might succeed in inducting many
others  in the same subject;  another operator  may, if his
Sanativeness  be  large,  succeed  in affecting the Sanativeness
of this same subject.
   The subject may be inducted by his OAvn organs ;  that is,
one organ may induct all  the others, and produce paralysis
or.monomania.   Again, the subject may be inducted by ex-
ternal inanimate  objects, as in the cases of spontaneous som-
nambulism, such as that of Jane C. Rider.

   Signs  of  Susceptibility.—I find  the  most susceptible
subjects among those whose flesh is pliable and flaccid, and
indicative of a Avant of vigor in  the capillary circulation.
But I have also*  found  a great  number,  the appearance of
Avhose  flesh,  and indeed every appearance, was  highly in-
dicative of susceptibility; yet upon trial they were found
perfectly impervious:  the reason is, that the isolation was
perfect, though   the Etherean  current  was weak.   I have 
184              etheropathy.

long since given up all pretensions to skill in determining by
the appearance of a person, whether or not he is suscepti-
ble, since I am satisfied that it depends upon two or  more
causes, one of Avhich is concealed from the senses.
  The susceptibility of the  subject is greatly increased by
his  passiveness,  and the consent  and  submission of his
mind, Avhile the powers of the operator are in  their most
active condition.   It is also increased by the absence  of all
exciting stimulii,  such as noise, or anxiety, or hunger, or
pain.   All these  facts go to establish the opinion that sus-
ceptibility is, in some degree, related to the Aveakness with
which the currents are evolved from the  organs of the
subject.
  2.  Will of operator producing induction.   By the  term
will, I mean the effort Avhich we are conscious  of making
to accomplish an end; for  instance, when I determine to
raise my arm, I immediately make an effort, Avhich is  called
willing, and instantly my arm rises.  In this case,  the arm
was inducted by the brain : that is, a motion of Etherium
from the brain Avas communicated to my arm.  Now, when
a person sits before me with his eyes closed, and I will his
arm to rise, I make the same effort that I did when I raised
my OAvn  arm; and if his arm actually rises at  my will, I
conceive that the effect was produced  in  the same Avay in
both  cases :  that is, by the induction of a current of  Ethe-
rium  from my brain to the  nerves connected with the arm,
causing the arm to perform its function.
   If I will the arm to feel sore, as if burnt, and the subject
instantly moves his arm,  and complains of its being hurt, the
principle is the same;  I  induct the requisite nerves of sen-
sation by my will, so that a current of  Etherium passes to
Sanativeness  from the arm, and produces a painful state of
Consciousness.  Why cannot I cause a  sensation  in  the sub-
ject as well 'as a motion ? in  both  cases,  there is merely a
current of Etherium from the  brain of the operator  • but in 
etheropathy.
185
one case the current moves down to the arm of the subject,
in the other, it moves  up to the  brain; of course, in one
case it produces motion, in the other sensation.
  There has been much discussion among metaphysicians,
concerning Identity  and Consciousness.  The  question  is
often asked, What phreno-organ is it that  says " IV and
what is it that says UI am?" and what  says " / will ?"
What is will ?
  I ansAver these questions simply  and plainly, thus :—The
notions of/and I am are the result of the operation of the
reflective  organs.   Many animals never  have such an idea.
I am and / was and I shall be are notions which are related
inseparably to each other, and to the  comparing and con-
necting poAver.  Many beings are conscious  that never have
reason enough to raise the idea of / am.  An infant is con-
scious, but does not think of I am or I was, and it is not until
they learn to compare themselves, with other  beings, that
they distinguish I from other beings in  their reasoning.
Doubtless the first efforts of  the  infant mind in reasoning,
teaches  them the notion of / and / am, and a little more  of
the same  kind of reasoning, teaches them the  notion of I
was and I shall be.
  Identity is  an idea that I am the same person that I was,
and this  is certainly a  notion which  can only arise  upon
Comparison and connection, or Causality.
  I will is an expression which is used in  two senses, one
signifies I desire, and the other I am determined.
  I desire is a notion excited in Consciousness by any active
phreno-organ when stimulated by some  object.
  1 am determined is a notion  produced  in  Consciousness,
principally by Combativeness, Firmness, Imperativeness and
Hopefulness, under circumstances of opposition and difficulty.
  The idea of / can is generally produced by Hope and re-
flection.  The idea of i" myself am superior from Imperative-
ness and reflection.  The idea of I love  from Adhesiveness,
               9 
186
etheropathy.
Comparison and Causality.  The idea of I hale  from De-
structiveness and reflection.   In short, it is reflection that
says I, and propensity  says  will.   In operating, when Ave
will that the subject  shall be in  a certain state, that Avhich
wills is Imperativeness,  Firmness  and Hopefulness, and
any other propensities may add  their influence, if they are
interested in the result.   When  one propensity desires one
thing, and another the contrary, the will is the predominant
propensity.

               3. credencive induction.
  While engaged in performing  various  experiments, I
made  a  very important  discovery  which  I have  never
before  communicated to  the  public in writing,  though I
have frequently  mentioned it  privately to my friends, and
publicly  in  my  lectures.  It  is  this—that when a subject
is but  slightly affected, and when  any of the operators in
mesmerism, or neurology, or pathetism, would send him
away as unprofitable—merely by the application of a very
simple  stimulus which  every one  has  always at hand, the
subject may be  brought  perfectly  under   your control.
Do you ask me what this simple and powerful stimulus is ?
I answer, that it is an assertion.
  Assert to the subject, in a decided tone, for instance, " You
cannot  open your eyes,1' and if his eyes were shut when you
made the  assertion, he cannot open  them afterwards until
you again say, " Now you can open them," or something to
that effect.  Again ; say to the subject, "Put your hands to-
gether  and you cannot separate them.''7  If now he puts  his
hands  together, he will try in vain to separate them until you
reverse your assertion.   Say  " the floor is hot," and instant-
ly to him it seems hot.   Assert that « yonder is a lion," and
he immediately believes it and sees it; or tell him that he
is himself a lion, and he  instantly assumes  the character,
and begins to roar and show his teeth and claws. 
          CREDENCIVE  INDUCTION.        187

  It has long been known that very susceptible subjects may
be deluded and Avilled into almost any state of  mind ; but
it has not  before been known that  it requires less suscepti-
bility to perform these experiments than any other.   It has
not been known that it is on this principle that most of the
successful experiments in  neurology,  pathetism and hyp-
notism are performed.  The gentlemen Avho have conducted
these experiments were evidently ignorant of the real agent
that produced the phenomena.
  It is a  fact, capable of being easily demonstrated, that
nearly all  of the  subjects of  Dr.  Buchanan,  or any other
operator, can be made to  believe anything, or  to  assume
any  character, or to conform  to the wishes, expressed or
implied, of the operator;  and this can  be done  when they
are affected in the very least degree, while they are wide
awake, and appear to know Avhat they are about.   They
cannot resist an assertion.   Put your Avords in the  form of
an inquiry, and they are powerless—for instance, ask the
subject, "  Can you raise your hand?'''' and he will raise it;
but assert—" you cannot raise your hand," and he cannot do
it.   The same is true of any other  assertion, as,  "you can-
not speak," " you  cannot  speak without lisping," " you
cannot  speak  without  stuttering," " you  cannot  stop,"
"you cannot rise,"  " you finger is  wounded  and  bleeding,"
"your hair is wool,"  "your bands are iron," or  "fish" or
" fire," " you are a child" or " an  old man."  Any of these
assertions  produce  an instantaneous effect.
  Let the subject suppose that you are going to excite the
organs of  his brain—let him believe that you expect Avhen
you touch a certain part of his head, that he will be affected
in a particular way, and he will generally use all his inge-
nuity to learn your Avishes, and make his utmost  endeavors
to oblige you and accomplish  your expectations.   This is
a fact Avhich is undeniable, though  it has not hitherto been
explained. 
188
etheropathy.
  Say to the subject, " I  am going to excite your Comba-
tiveness, and you will  be very angry."  Now, touch his
Combativeness, and he will be angry—touch his Tune, and,
if he knows Avhat  organ  you  intended to  touch, he will
begin to make music.  If he even suspects what you wish,
he will oftentimes act accordingly.  But if  be  has no idea
what you expect, he will do nothing.   If  the subject does
not know the location  of any  organ, and you  say nothing
and  give him no clue to your designs, you cannot excite his
organs by merely touching them.   If you succeed in exciting
his organs Avhen he is ignorant of your intention, it is done
by Will, by Sympathy, or by  Clairvoyance—but touching
them, according to the  method of Dr. Buchanan, is  all a
farce, and  the  astounding discoveries which he has pre-
tended to make by this  means,  are a still greater farce : the
wonder is,  that so many respectable men should have been
so grossly deceived by his experiments.   In making these
remarks, I  do not mean  to be understood as  impeaching the
integrity of Dr. Buchanan.   I know but little of him, but I
suspect that he began by deceiving  himself.
  In order  to explain these experiments we must first un-
derstand the nature of the organ of  Credenciveness, the pro-
pensity to act upon testimony or assertion.  It is a conform-
ing social propensity, and its natural stimulus is an assertion.
  1.  It  is a propensity, and operates like  every  other pro-
pensity.  We must, in order to understand Credenciveness,
therefore, acquire a clear notion of the manner  in  which a
propensity  operates.  It produces  a tendency to act in a
peculiar manner.  It sends a current  of Etherium through
the motor  nerves to  the muscles,  and  either  originates a
motion or modifies a motion Avhich  other propensities origi-
nate.  It antagonizes other propensities which are opposed
to it, and neutralizes them or combines with them.
  It produces a state of Consciousness peculiar to itself, and
Avhen predominant it causes other propensities  and the in- 
CREDENCIVE  INDUCTION.        189
tellectual faculties to conform to it and act as its auxili-
aries.
  When greatly excited by any  extraordinary  stimulus, it
governs  the  individual, and produces  such  uncontrolable
tendencies to gratify  itself as to constitute a peculiar species
of monomania.  This is a general definition and description
of a propensity such  as Credenciveness  is.
  2. It is a social propensity, and every social propensity
gives a tendency to act Avith reference to others, and for the
benefit directly or indirectly of others.  Social beings are
the objects from which its stimulus proceeds.
  3. It is a conforming social propensity. The whole group
to which it belongs have this peculiar  character, that they
all  tend to conform to  the  wishes, feelings, actions,  com-
mands and assertions of others.
  The conforming  socials,  when predominant  in  an indi-
vidual, give him a yielding, obliging,  credulous character,
and render him highly susceptible to the influence of per-
suasion, command, example, or assertion.  These organs in-
clude Submissiveness, the propensity to  obey—Kindness, the
propensity to oblige—Imitativeness, the propensity to sym-
pathize and to imitate—and Credenciveness, the propensity
believe and to act upon testimony.
  4. The appropriate stimulus of Credenciveness  is  asser-
tion.   It is the highest organ  of the  social class, and dis-
tinguishes man from the lower animals as much as any other
propensity, and perhaps more.    Were it not for this, human
society Avould be reduced to an  equally degraded  condition
with that of the brutes.
  The child  believes  and  acts  upon the assertion  of  his
parent   instinctively,  and  thus  avails  himself of his ex-
perience and knowledge.  The courts of justice are founded
upon the principle of  belief;  they act altogether  upon the
testimony and assertions  of others, and not from their own
experience and knowledge.  History and tradition is based 
190
ETHEROPATH V .
upon it;  indeed all literature, and  all the modes in which
we record or communicate the acts, the experience, or the
thoughts  of others,  are  dependent upon Credenciveness.
Any expression of others excites it; but  an  assertion made
by one who is supposed to be of superior authority, power,
or knowledge—this is its highest stimulus, and excites it to
its highest degree of activity—even to monomania.  When
Credenciveness is uncommonly large, and Firmness and the
Reflectives small, an assertion, however extraordinary, is re-
ceived with confidence.  It requires but little aid from mes-
meric or etherean induction  to render some  men mere ma-
chines in the hands of those  whose assertions they believe.
  Now we must consider that the tendency of etherizing or
inducting a subject, is, to bring him under the influence of
the operator ;  to make him submit and sympathize, conform
and  confide  in the operator.   Its first and most powerful
effect is,  upon the conforming socials, to excite them, and
to exalt them to monomania.   The conforming socials were
designed to be stimulated by the words  and examples,  the
actions and commands of others.   Their very nature is such
as to cause their possessor to  be influenced.   They are  pe-
culiarly open  and susceptible to all kinds of stimuli Avhich
tend to  give others an influence over  us; and, of course,
they are peculiarly  susceptible to the influence of the cur-
rents of Etherium,  which proceed from  the operator.   If
they are more affected by his attempts to influence the sub-
ject, than any  other  organs are, it  is because it is their
function—their nature—their vocation.
  Let us now consider, that when a subject  is  perfectly
inducted, the  mere silently expressed toill  of the operator
can  influence him,  and cause him  to move  or feel in  any
desired way.   No assertion in  this case is necessary—no
sound—no  sign—no external muscular  motion.   There is
nothing but the operation of the silent but potent will.
   On the other hand, let us consider, that, when  the  sub- 
CREDENCIVE  INDUCTION.       191
ject is not inducted, but is in his ordinary and normal  con-
dition, the will of the operator has no effect unless expressed
in a certain Avay, by voice or other sign, which the subject
perceives by the aid of his senses.  Here  we have  two
opposite conditions ; one in Avhich the  subject is  isolated
from the influence of the operator, except in a certain way
which the Creator  has  prescribed; the other a condition
in which the isolation is entirely overcome, so that every
motion of the operator is a cause of motion in the subject.
   Now, between these  two  extreme conditions of perfect
induction and non-induction, there are, of course, many in-
termediate states or degrees of induction.
   What is the first degree ?  What organs (in most cases)
first feel the  effects  of the  inducting process ?  I  answer,
the conforming  socials, and  especially Credenciveness; for,
if an assertion produced a certain degree of influence  upon
the mind of the  subject before the induction  commenced, it
produces more  and more  as you  proceed.   At first  your
 assertion  that he cannot open his eyes or raise his hand,
 merely renders the movement difficult;  next it  is  more
 difficult; next it can  only be done by a vigorous effort;
 then it cannot be done at all.
   You can  generally affect  his eyes first, then his mouth
 slightly, then bis hands.  His hands will at first be so slightly
 affected, that when you assert that he cannot separate them,
 you must hold them together lightly by pressing upon them ;
 next they will  adhere without pressure ; and, finally, pro-
 ceeding from one step to another Avith a degree of rapidity
 very different in different subjects, Ave  acquire control over
 every power of mind and body, so that he will frown,  or
 smile,  or weep at  our  command or  assertion merely.   If
 we  proceed still farther, Ave gradually, in  many  subjects,
 acquire a poAver of moving  their organs by merely Avilling,
 and Avithout expressing our will by any sign ; but, in these
 cases,  though  neither assertion  nor  sign  is necessary to 
192
ETHEROPATHY.
influence the subject, yet an  assertion, if made, is wonder-
fully potent.   The influence of assertions, and  the disposi-
tion to conform, is in proportion to the degree of induction
of the conforming socials.  It is generally supposed by those
who see experiments of this kind performed, that the oper-
ator  accompanies  his  assertion by  an effort of his will.
This, however, is not the case.  If the operator makes an
assertion,  it will have nearly as much effect though he wills
that it shall have no effect whatever.  This  proves  that it
is the assertion and  not the  Avid.   We are  so constituted
that we take the assertion of our  fellow beings as the true
expression of their will, and wTe sometimes believe them in
spite of all our efforts to resist the belief.
   In order to understand these experiments, another pecu-
liarity of  the mind must be taken  into account, with which
keepers of the  insane are familiar ; and that  is  that  the na-
ture of delusion is such that the patient or subject is positive
that he is not deluded.  To him  it seems  like reality and
truth ; his Consciousness does not inform him  that one of his
propensities has obtained a  mastery over the rest and is
misleading him.   It is common to see insane persons be-
lieving themselves  to be animals, plants, or glass vessels ;
and the most positive and palpable proof of  their error has
no convincing effect upon  their  minds.    Indeed we see
many  persons, Avho are generally supposed to be sane, Avho
being  possessed Avith a favorite idea seem incapable of ap-
preciating the  most conclusive arguments Avhich show its
erroneousness.  In these cases  I  presume  that  there  is a
slight degree of monomania.
   We also find many  insane  persons who are rational on
every  subject but one, and  the instant that is  mentioned
they betray the highest degree of monomania.
   The antagonism of the organs must also be understood, in
order  to explain the hesitation, doubt and wavering which
subjects often exhibit when but slightly affected-  It is com- 
CREDENCIVE  INDUCTION.      193
mon for them to deny that they believe the assertion of the
operator, and yet they Avill act as if they do believe it; for
instance : say to the subject—" That piece of silver is red-
hot and will burn you if you touch it ;" he will perhaps ans-
wer that he does not believe  it and will advance towards it
and put  forth  his  hand to  touch it, but  the very Avay in
which he moves shows that  he suspects, at  least,  that  it
may be true.   He first holds his fingers very near,  then
cautiously touches  it, and  perhaps expresses his  surprise
that it is actually hot.  Sometimes, though rarely, he will
say, " I know it is  not so, though it seems so;" ask him
Iioav he  Iciioavs that it  is  not really so, and he Avill ans-
wer, that former experience and the testimony of all around,
that he is deluded by the inductive operation, make him
think that it must be so, though his senses assure him that they
are all mistaken.  This contradiction arises, in  a great meas-
ure, from the opposing effects of  the Ipseals and the gov-
erning socials, especially  Imperativeness   and   Firmness.
They are the natural antagonists of the conforming  socials ;
they give a tendency to act independently of  the influence
of others ; and it  is from them that the suggestions arise in
opposition to the assertions of the  operator, when those as-
sertions contradict our OAvn experience.
   If the process of induction did not operate as a stimulus
to the conforming socials  in particular—if it stimulated the
governing equally Avith the conforming socials,  the experi-
ments Avhich depend  upon the influence of assertion could
not be performed at all.
   Strange as it may seem, however, it is a fact, that a per-
son of intelligence and education, Avith whom I am acquaint-
ed, although I have explained to him the nature of the in-
fluence which I have obtained OA'er him—although he knows
as Avell as I do that it is his own Credenciveness that paral-
izes his muscles, yet  when I assert that he  cannot open his
eyes, he instantly loses all control over them. 
194
ETHEROPATHY.
  Such is the nature of Credenciveness, that it responds to
its appropriate  stimulus  involuntarily and irresistibly.  In
this respect it is like  Sanativeness  or Pneumativeness, or
any other propensity.  When Sanativeness receives its ap-
propriate stimulus, it instantly acts, and with uncontrolable
power.   For  instance—AAhen Ave are wounded  or burned
we cannot help feeling  pain, for Sanativeness is  instantly
roused and produces pain and a kind of action  calculated to
relieve the pain.  This affection of Sanativeness is irresisti-
ble and involuntary ;  precisely so it is Avith Credenciveness
when excited by an assertion.
   But there  is another and more complicated  process to be
 explained.   When the operator asserts that a piece of silver
 will burn the subject's finger if he touches it,  the  assertion
 being  the natural stimulus of Credenciveness, of course,
 excites it; the subject touches the  piece of silver and in-
 stantly feels  pain.  Now  pain  is a  state of Consciousness
 produced by Sanativeness, and  not by Credenciveness ; and
 an assertion is not the appropriate stimulus of  Sanativeness.
 The question is, what roused  Sanativeness ?   If the asser-
tion did not excite it, what did ? I answer, that the assertion
 excited Credenchreness ; and Credenciveness,  through Con-
 sciousness, excited Sanativeness ; according to the principle
 which I have explained in the article upon the inter-phreno
 senses.   It must, however, be constantly borne in mind, that
 the brain of the etherized or inducted subject  is in a condi-
 tion Avhich renders it liable to be affected in an extreme and
 morbid degree.   The principle that one highly stimulated
 organ may etherize or induct the rest of the  brain, or that
 it may at least act as  auxiliary to  the  operator, is of very
 great importance  in explaining  the fact that a subject can be
 put to sleep  without the will of the operator.
   I say, for instance, to a subject, " Sit doAvn, close your eyes
 and let me put you to sleep."   He sits down and I put my
 hand upon him, or stand and look at him, or pretend to look 
                    SYMPATHY.                195

at him, and pretend to be willing him to sleep ; though, in
fact, I am thinking all the time of something else ;  perhaps
I am actually willing that be shall not.go  to sleep; yet he
does go to sleep just as usual.   Noav in this  case  his own
Credench-eness was the principal operator, and inducted all
the other organs—neutralized some  and made others auxili-
aries.  Again ;  I  say to the subject, " To-morrow at one
o'clock you Avill go to sleep."   When  the time arrives he
actually goes to sleep, unless he forgets my assertion.   I have
knoAvn them  to  forget, and, in  that case,  not be affect-
ed at all when the time arrived.   Does not this prove that
the power that affects them is within themselves ?
  Credenciveness may be excited to a peculiar and morbid
action  by the  process of the operator, or by disease ; but,
Avhen thus excited, it produces the phenomena Avithout any
other aid from external influences.  This  explanation of
the nature of Credenciveness, is a key to most of the won-
derful experiments  and  discoveries  of Buchanan and Sun-
derland ; of Braid, Hall and Elliotson.  It explains, also, the
apparent contradictions and absurdities which embarrassed
the celebrated French committee of Avhich  Dr. Franklin was
a member.

         4.  sympathy produced by  induction.
   When the inductive process has been completely success-
ful—when many  of the  organs of the operator have com-
municated their motions to the  corresponding organs of the
subject, and have established such a connection that a move-
ment of the  operator is  immediately followed by a similar
movement of the subject,  and  a feeling  of  the operator's
mind is  folloAved by a similar feeling in the mind of the
subject—this  is sympathy; and by the word sympathy I
mean a condition  of the subject  induced by the operator in
consequence of a  connection and communication  between
them;—I mean a condition which is the  effect of a similar 
196
ETHEROPATHY.
 condition of the operator.   The  condition of the  operator
 is the cause, and the condition of the subject is the effect. The
 currents of Etherium from the organs of the operator to the
 organs of the subject are the means by aa hich the effect is
 produced.   The isolation  of the organs of the subject was
 an obstacle to the  currents of the  operator; the process of
 etherean induction removed or overcame the  obstacle ; the
 currents of the operator's Etherium, after having first moved
 the organs of the operator himself, proceeded to the corres-
 ponding organs of the subject and moved them in  a similar
 manner, though in a slighter degree.   This is sympathy in
 a strictly philosophical  sense.   Sometimes it is so perfect
 that the very same ideas, thoughts, images, colors, forms
 and sounds which occupy the mind of the  operator, are
 made to occupy the mind of the subject by sympathy.
   The operator can put another person into communication
 with the subject, and then the subject will sympathize with
 him also in the same manner, and upon the same principle.
 The  only difficulty is in first  overcoming  the  isolation.
 When this is done, any person who is put into communica-
 tion, may become  the cause or object of the subject's sym-
 pathy.   The subject may read his thoughts and feelings by
 sympathy.
   In my " New System of Phrenology," I pointed out the
 fact, for  the first time, that normal sympathy depends upon
 the organ of  Imitativeness ; that  being a conforming social
 propensity,  it gives a tendency to do as others do, and feel
 as others feel; and that, by giving a disposition to observe
 and think upon what others do, in order  to  imitate them
 and sympathize with them, it becomes  an  essential element
 in the  faculty of learning human  nature.   On page 292 I
 stated that this organ contributes to give elevation to the
 forehead, and  added—" This  explains why  authors  and
painters  and  orators, who  have  been most  felicitous in their
 descriptions of human nature, have high foreheads." 
                 IMITATIVE NESS.             197

   Noav, it may seem almost incredible to the candid and
 honest reader, yet it is  but too  true, that after I and my
 pupils had publicly taught this doctrine for years, and pub-
 lished it in thousands  of  volumes all  over the country, an
 individual had the effrontery to pretend that he had discov-
 ered the organ of Human Nature in the front  part of Imi-
 tativeness. The truth is, every organ of man is an organ of
 human nature, and must be possessed  by self in order to be
 understood in others ; but the social organs all give  a ten-
 dency to learn the minds of others.  The conforming socials,
 and particularly Imitativeness, give this tendency more than
 any others ; it is in this sense only that there is  any organ
 in man relating  to a knowledge  of human nature.   As I
 have given much prominence to Credenciveness and  Imita-
 tiveness in this work, I Avill quote the folloAving explanation
 of them from my Avork on Phrenology :

                  11th.  imitativeness.
   This is the  propensity to  copy the actions of superiors—
 to  follow the  example of those whom Ave reverence—to
 adopt the manners and peculiarities of those with whom we
 associate.  It is very active during the early years of life,
 before children are capable of judging of  the  propriety or
 impropriety of their acts.   It  enables  them to  avail  them-
 selves of nearly all the practical advantages of their parent's
 experience.  A thousand  little necessary arts, the nature of
 which it would be impossible for  them to understand, are
 practiced instinctively under the influence  of Imitativeness.
 The organs of both Playfulness and Imitativeness are  much
 larger  in  children than adults, and they are both of very
great importance in education. Man is termed, by Aristotle,
the imitative animal.   Darwin remarks, that "  Not only do
the greatest part  of mankind learn all  the  common arts  of
 life by Imitation, but  brute animals seem capable of acquir-
ing knowledge with greater facility by  imitating each  other, 
198
E T H E R O P AT H Y.
 than by any method by which man can teach them."  " This
 propensity to imitate, not only  appears  in the  actions of
 children, but in all the customs  and fashions of the world.
 Many thousands tread in the beaten paths of others, for one
 who traverses regions of his  own discovery."
   Dr. Gall first discovered  this organ in those who mani-
 fested a talent for mimicking, and he therefore named it the
 organ of Mimicry.   Spurzheim and Combe  considered it
 the propensity of  Imitation in general.  I agree with those
 eminent phrenologians so far  as they  have gone, but I do
 not think that they have given sufficient importance to this
 propensity ; nor taken into account the designs of the Cre-
* ator in bestowing it.  They have hitherto only spoken of it
 as it is exhibited by mimics, actors, artists and dramatists ;
 but these are its extraordinary  manifestations, when pecu-
 liarly combined with other  powers.  I consider  Imitative-
 ness a social propensity, designed to enable mankind to con-
 form to the manners and habits of each other.   It partially
 supplies the poAver of reason before reason is ripe, by enabl-
 ing the young, the ignorant and the inferior,  to  imitate
 the actions of their  parents,  masters and other superiors.
    Imitativeness is a conforming social propensity ; and  nat-
 urally acts in combination with Submissiveness.   Although
 Ave may imitate those whom we do not respect, that is  not
 the proper mode, but may be considered rather as an abuse,
 and a deviation from its original  intention. We  always direct
 the imitation of the young  to the great and good, to those
 whom we most  respect, and whose example Ave consider
 most worthy of imitation.  In  accordance with  this fact is
 the anatomical arrangement of the convolution  of this or-
 gan : it originates at Submissiveness, and runs forward par-
 allel with Kindness, until it reaches the Reflecti\-es.   [See
 the engraving of the bust.]  Imitativeness should always be
 explained in connection  with Submissiveness ; it is a mere
 superaddition  to it, to  carry out the  plan of conformity. 
IMITATIVENESS.
199
There is also an  intimate relation  between Kindness  and
and this propensity.   Imitativeness disposes us to conceive
the feelings of others, and Kindness is a propensity to grati-
fy those feelings.  The feeling of sympathy, in my opinion,
depends principally upon Imitativeness.   When explaining
Kindness, I stated that in order to pity others, we  must first
experience similar feelings to theirs ; and in order to expe-
rience similar  feelings, we must possess similar organs.
Kindness is superadded to the other propensities, to dispose
us to gratify the feelings which those propensities produce;
and Imitativeness  is superadded, to dispose us to understand
those feelings that we may be the better enabled  to gratify
them.  Darwin says, " Imitation is repetition, which is the
easiest kind of animal action."  If this definition is correct,
then  this is  a  propensity to repeat the actions  of others;
and not  their actions only,  but  their dress  and language
and mechanical performances.   Now, if my views are  cor-
rect, sympathy is a  repetition in  our own minds, of the  feel-
ings of others, and depends upon this propensity.  " Many
young men," says  Darwin, " fall  sick on seeing surgical
operations performed, and even feel pain  in the  same part
of their own bodies ;  that is, they in some measure imitate
in their OAvn fibres, the violent  actions which they witness
in those or  others."  " The effect of this poAverful agent,
 Imitation, in the  moral world, is the foundation  of all our
 mental sympathies  with the pains and pleasures  of others;
 and is, in  consequence, the source of all our virtues.  For in
 what consists our sympathies with the miseries, or with the
joys  of our fellow-creatures, but  in an involuntary excitation
 of ideas in some measure similar, or imitative of those which
 we believe to exist in the minds of the persons  whom we
 commiserate or congratulate ?"
    Sympathy,  is  a  term which is  frequently used as if it
 was  synonymous with  pity ;  but pity is a feeling produced
 by Kindness, and  sympathy is  a feeling produced princi- 
200
ETHEROPATHY.
pally  by  Imitativeness.   As Imitativeness  and Kindness
naturally  act  together, and are generally combined Avith
other  propensities, it  is sometimes difficult  to distinguish
which has the greatest share in producing the mingled emo-
tions.   In some late examinations which I have made of
the human brain, I found that the furrow which separates
Kindness  from Imitativeness,  is  very  shalloAV,  being  not
more  than half an inch deep ; Avhereas the furroAV between
Credenciveness and Imitativeness  is more than an inch  and
a half.  This anatomical fact coincides with these views,
and explains  Avhy the two organs  are so apt to act in com-
bination, and mutually to excite  each  other.  When  ex-
plaining Kindness, I showed that it always acts in combina-
tion with one or more of the lower propensities ;  I now add,
that it also acts, in every well-balanced mind, in combina-
tion Avith Imitativeness; and what is commonly understood
by the term sympathy, when applied to the joys and sorrows
of others, is  a compound  feeling, produced by the united
action of those two propensities.   For  instance, if one of
our neighbors has lost his child,  our Parentiveness, Kind-
ness and Imitativeness combine to produce towards him the
feeling of sympathy.   If cur Parentiveness is large, judging
by our own experience, we conclude that he must be deep-
ly afflicted ;  but this is not sympathy.    If our Kindness is
large, we  pity him, and are anxious to do all  in  our power
to console him ; but neither is this sympathy.   Now, if our
Imitativeness is large, we  not only pity him, but  we join
with him in lamenting the loss of  the child—we feel as he
feels,  but not so intensely.  This is sympathy :  pity is di-
rected towards him, but sympathy is a feeling that mingles
with his, and  flows on in the same course:  the only differ-
ence is, that his is the main current that draws the others
for a time in the same direction.
  A person having Imitativeness very large, with Kindness
small, will be able to conceive how another feels—will  as 
IMITATIVENESS.
201
it were, imitate or repeat imperfectly in bis OAvn mind, the
feelings of others ; but will have no very strong desire to
gratify, or relieve them : yet this is one kind of sympathy ;
though not such as  proceeds  from a well balanced mind.
LaArater remarks, in substance, that by imitating the expres-
sion of another, we  may  partially experience  his feelings ;
and I doubt not that this is  true, especially of those Avho
have Imitativeness very large.
   Spurzheim, Combe and all  other phrenologians, agree in
denominating this propensity a feeling of imitation;  but
imitation  is an action produced by the propensity of Imita-
tiveness.   It Avould be absurd  to say " I feel imitation ;" but
it is perfectly proper to say " I act in imitation ;"  and it is
also proper to  say " I feel sympathy."   I therefore name
this the propensity of Imitativeness,—the feeling which it
produces  I call sympathy,—and the actions Avhich it  pro-
duces I denominate  imitations.   If the term sympathy does
not con\rey the precise idea of the feeling produced by  Imi-
tativeness, then I knoAV of  none in our language that does.
 I have, in writing this Avork,  often felt  a necessity for  new
terms, to express  more precisely the different feelings; and
 I doubt not that  as the  science continues to  progress, im-
 provements Avill be  introduced in this important part of the
 nomenclature of mental philosophy.
   Those who have this organ large, are capable of conform-
 in«- to the manners and habits of those Avith Avhom  they
 associate, much more readily than those Avho have  it mode-
 rateiy developed ; they seem  to have the power of approach-
 ing in a  proper and successful manner, those Avho occupy
 eminent stations.    They are  more easy and graceful in their
 manners,  and can readily adapt themselves to the feelings,
 actions and situations of others.   It is large  in those who
 are capable of representing the feelings and actions of others,
 in Avriting, or speech ;  and no man can easily excel as  an
 actor, orator,  artist, dramatic author,  ventriloquist, dancer, 
202
ETHEROPATHY.
or musician, unless  this is fairly developed.  In proof  of
this, we find it large in the portraits, or heads, of all who
are eminent in either  of  these  professions.   It  gives the
dramatic author the power of calling up in his own mind
the same train of  ideas and feeling, that he supposes the
character to possess  Avhom he describes ; and having thus,
as it were,  imbued himself with their spirit, and made their
case his own, he  proceeds to pour out their feelings in lan-
guage such as that of Shakspeare, Voltaire, Walter  Scott,
and other writers of this class.   If they are public speakers,
their elocution will  be graceful and appropriate ; such  as
that of Henry Clay.   If they are actors, their personations
will be striking  representatives of real  life.   If they are
artists, they will  copy the works of others,  or  nature,  in
such a manner  as  very much  to  resemble the  original.
Imitativeness is  intimately related to  the intellect.   The
organ runs forward from Submissiveness, until it terminates
in the Reflective Faculties; accordingfy we find that  its
operation is very much modified by the degree and manner
in which the intellect is developed.  If the Reflectives are
large they  give originality to the thoughts, they check the
improper activity  of Imitativeness, and give a disposition to
imitate or adopt principles, instead of actions.  If the  Re-
flectives are  not large, and the  Perceptives  are  much
developed,  then there will  be a manifestation of practical,
or mechanical imitation; such as is manifested by mimics,
and superfical geniuses, who can quickly learn  to perform
operations, the nature of Avhich they are incapable of under-
standing.   Those authors who  are incapable of reasoning
profoundly, but Avho can write racily and pictorially, and
readily adapt their style to the subject, will invariably  be
found to have moderate reflectives, and large  perceptives
and Imitativeness.  They

            " Catch the manners living as they rise." 
imitativeness.             203
They describe things as they see  and feel and hear them,
but do not attempt to account for them.  Most of the writ-
ings of novelists are of this character.
  I have never seen a good actor, howeArer large his Imita-
tiveness might be, who had not large perceptives.
  This propensity sometimes combines Avith the  other high
propensities and the reflectives, and manifests itself only in
a moral way, by conforming  to the precepts and following
the moral and religious examples of  others.  Such persons
are apt to suppose that they should have the organ small,
because they have never manifested it in  a mimicking, or
a mechanical way ; but this common error is owing to  the
manner in which the propensity has been explained.  Phre-
nologians have hitherto treated it as a peculiarity of artists
and dramatists, and have almost entirely overlooked its
higher and nobler purposes, as a conforming social propen-
sity, superadded to Submissiveness and Kindness :  the fact
is,  the  manner  in which  it  is  manifested, depends much
upon the organs with which it is combined.
  There are some species  of animals that manifest Imita-
tiveness very  distinctly, particularly the monkey tribes;
and I have found the organ plainly developed in  the brains
of  animals, as  the  swine, cat,  dog, horse,  &c, some of
which manifest it in  so low a degree that we  should  not
have suspected them of possessing it; but it is  probably
useful to them as a social propensity."
   It should be mentioned that subjects are  apt to be seized
with a most ludicrous disposition to imitate every one whom
they see, or with whom they are  in communication.   I do
not now refer to the sympathy Avhich I have been describing,
but they imitate, just as  they do in the normal  state, by
looking at a thing, or feeling  its motions, and then repeating
or  imitating.   It would seem that all the conforming socials
are excited by induction, and their activity explains many
curious  phenomena.  It  accounts  most satisfactorily  for 
204
ETHEROPATHY.
their disposition to conform to the wishes of the operator,
and to endeavor to make all his plans and experiments suc-
ceed, so that it almost ahvays seems as if there is collusion
betAA^een the operator and the subject, Avhile, in fact, they
are both perfectly honest and innocent in their intentions.
The subject deceives by endeavoring  to  gratify, Avhat he
believes to be  the wishes of the operator.

       12th.  credenciveness, or marvelousness.
   " This is the propensity to  act  upon the  testimony  of
others—to  give credence to the assertions, and conform  to
the opinions of those with whom Ave associate, and whom
we reverence.  It is intimately related to Submissiveness;
and usually acts in combination with it.   The convolution
of the brain which constitutes this organ, originates at Sub-
missiveness, forms a kind of elbow against Hopefulness, and
runs forward to Causality.  This arrangement is not with-
out an important and obvious purpose.   Although it is true
that every organ  in  the brain  is in some degree related to
every other organ, yet there is a  more  intimate  relation
betAveen some than others; and those which associate most
in action Avill  be  found  to  be  associated and arranged to-
gether in  the  brain.  These remarks  apply Avith peculiar
force  to Submissiveness, Credenciveness and Hopefulness.
We give most credence to those whom most  we reverence,
aad our hopes are greatly modified by our belief, while  both
hope and faith are very  dependent upon Causality.
   I consider this propensity as designed, like all the others,
to produce actions, or to modify actions which other pro-
pensities originate.   Marvelousness and Wonder are feel-
ings, which, under some circumstances, precede the actions,
just as pity precedes the actions produced by Kindness.  In
order to determine the kind  of actions Avhich Credencive-
ness produces, we must consider the relation which it bears
to Submissiveness, and to the  other propensities ;  and en-
> 
credenciveness.
205
deavor to ascertain its utility in promoting the harmonious
operations of society.  It is my opinion, that belief in testi-
mony of all kinds, depends upon this  propensity.  Faith,
belief, conviction, are its  ordinary affections,  when acting
in combination with the  intellect, upon  a  subject that can
be understood.  Wonder and Marvelousness are caused by
its operation when the subject is extraordinary, and not fully
understood.   Combined with Submissiveness,  it disposes to
faith in the testimony of others, on account of our respect
for their characters.  This principle  is recognized in all
courts, that the more exalted  and honorable  the character
of the Avitness, the more credit is due to his testimony.
The organ  is  much  larger in children than adults,  and
enables them  to rely with perfect confidence  in  the state-
ments of their parents.   Such is the constitution  of  their
minds, that they believe the most extraordinary  thing  upon
the bare assertion of their parents or guardians.   And this
is necessary in order to govern and guide them, in  cases
where they have no experience of their' OAvn.
   When explaining Hopefulness, the highest of the Ipseals,
I stated that it is related to  futurity through the medium of
Causality.   The  same is true  of  Credenciveness.   That
which is present, and subject to the test of the senses and
loAver Perceptives, cannot be a subject of belief—it is  posi-
tive knoAvledge.   But when any thing is absent, or  con-
tingent, or to come, it is then a legitimate subject for the
exercise of this propensity.   It is  more  dependent  upon
Causality than any of the other Socials ; and  is much  more
directly related to it.  In  the brain, the convolution of Cre-
denciveness seems to go forward on purpose to join  Cau-
sality.  Indeed, the Reflectives can hardly be said to guide
the Socials, except through the medium of this important
propensity.   Firmness, Submissiveness and Conscientious-
ness are greatly affected by a change in belief.
   Every proposition, the truth of which we cannot test by 
206
ETHEROPATHY.
the evidence of our  OAvn  senses, if it  is probable, or  even
possible, is calculated to excite and gratify Credenciveness.
But its most natural  stimulus is the  testimony of intelligent
beings.   I consider it as specially designed to make us act
upon the testimony of others, and particularly of our supe-
riors, in  cases where we  cannot have the evidence of our
senses.   Impressions enter through the  senses to the Per-
ceptives, and are analyzed, classed and connected by the
Reflectives.  Causality performs  the last and highest pro-
cess of intellect;  and if the proposition  is  not perfectly
self-evident, it becomes a  matter of belief or of skepticism ;
that is, it becomes an appropriate  stimulus for Credencive-
ness.   This propensity is, of course, modified in its action
according to the nature of the  subject, the amount of evi-
dence,  the proportion of  Credenciveness to  intellect, and
the effect which it is  to  have  upon  our  interests, or our
hopes.   Whether an  individual will be skeptical or credu-
lous, depends upon the proportion Avhich his intellect bears.
to Credenciveness and Submissivenss.  Those who  have
very high but shallow foreheads, are apt to be foolishly credu-
lous ;  and those who have low and prominent foreheads, are
inclined to skepticism.  They Avish to investigate much and
believe but  little.  There is a third class who have  fore-
heads wide, high and prominent—they love to believe when
they can; but they cannot without proper investigation.  They
examine thoroughly, and  believe  sincerely, many contro-
verted  doctrines—they seem  to take pleasure in revolving
in their minds doubtful subjects, even  if they cannot quite
believe  them.  If it  is something  which challenges be-
lief—if it has probability  or even  possibility in its favor, it
is a proper subject to stimulate and delight this propensity,
and produce  the  feeling of marvelousness.   This enables
us to understand the  character of novelists and  romancers
and dramatic authors, such as  Scott, Voltaire, Shakspeare
and Tasso, who all  had  very  high  foreheads, particularly 
credenciveness.            207
in the region of this organ  and Imitativeness.  Those who
have been remarkable for faith upon religious subjects, have
the same  development, combined with  Submissiveness.
Such are Bunyan, Baxter,  SAvedenborg, Irving, Wesley
and hundreds with Avhom I am acquainted.
  I consider this as one of the most important elements of a
love of knowledge.  The  ability or the talent of knowing,
depends  upon the  intellect—but the  desire, the  love, the
proneness to learn, depends upon the  propensities.   Each
propensity produces a  desire to know that which will be
gratifying to itself.  The highest gratification of Credencive-
ness consists in knowing what people have said  or written.
It is easy, therefore, to understand why those who have it
large should be very  fond  of reading or hearing the extra-
ordinary  assertions of others,  and of inquiring into  their
truth.  If the intellect is large, they will be commonly suc-
 cessful in their inquiries;  but if it is small, they may be in-
 duced to give credence to  the most absurd statements. It is
 this propensity that makes us love to  hear or read extraor-
 dinary things, even if we do not believe them.   It seems as
 if some love to stretch their faith to its utmost, just to give
 it  exercise; the more marvelous  the story, the better  it
 suits them: and  if Submissiveness is large, and  the state-
 ment is made upon high authority,  it  becomes perfectly
  charming.   This  organ is larger in youth than adults, and
  women than men.  It accounts for the love of  the marvel-
  ous manifested by children ; for the pernicious novel read-
  ing habits of girls  ; and for the ease Avith which impostors of
  all descriptions  succeed with the generality of females.  I
  have noticed that those women, Avho in youth read the most
  novels, and the  least science, in maturer years are the most
  prone to superstition and fanaticism.  They are much greater
  sticklers for matters of mere faith and form, than for moral
  and christian practice.
    The exposition which I have  made of this propensity, 
208
ETHEROPATHY.
shows that it is one of very great importance in society.  It
is the grand lever, by means of which the few can govern
the many more despotically than by any other.   It is for
this reason that the union of church and state is a desirable
object with all despots, and adds immensely to their power.
  This  is  plainly, then, a conforming  Social propensity;
since it is  the  means by which children and all ignorant
persons are guided.   Nothing renders a man more ungov-
ernable, or  unamiable,  than  a disposition to doubt every
thing he hears ;  and to rely entirely upon his own judgment
and observation, instead of giving due weight to the testi-
mony of others.
   In Regard to  the lower animals,  it is more difficult to
show that they possess Credenciveness, than any  of the
other Socials.  It is certain than they have it in a less de-
gree than  any of the  others, which alone  is sufficient to
prove  its exalted nature.
   It is worthy of remark, that Hopefulness, the highest
Ipseal,  Credenciveness, the highest Social,  and  Causality,
the  highest Intellectual, are  connected together  at the
top of the brain ; and it is curious to study  the  relation  in
which these three  important  powers stand  to each other,
and to  the PerceptiAres.  The Lower and Middle Percep-
tives are related to  that which  is perceptible, present and
certain.  The  Reflectives, to that which  is certain, but
which  is not present to the senses ; and which is known
 only by deduction.   Credenciveness to that which  is pro-
 bable, and Hopefulness to that Avhich is possible. We may
 hope for that Avhich Ave do  not belieA'e—Ave may believe
 what we cannot prove  by reasoning ; and we may prove by
 reasoning AA-hat we cannot test by the senses and Percep-
 tives.
   The region of perception is at the  base of the brain ;—of
 reflection,  a little higher; [see bust,] of credence, in  the
 upper part of the forehead; and hope a little farther  back. 
               CREDENCIVENESS.           209

In a well balanced mind, these will bear a just proportion
to each other; and in making an examination, it  is of the
very highest  importance that the relative development of
the lower and upper parts of the forehead should be com-
pared with each other, since they have an important mutual
influence.  Those who have excelled in practical science,
have the lower predominant;  and those who have excelled
in fiction, the upper; while those who  have avoided both
extremes are balanced.
10 
SECTION  XI.
         ETHEROPATHY —CONTINUED.

  5. Clairvoyance, or un-isolated perception, produced
by the process of induction overcoming isolation.
  When the subject, without the aid of his senses, by his
connection  with the operator,  perceives  the same things
which  are  perceived  by the operator,  it is perception by
sympathy ;  but  when  the subject, without the aid of his
senses, perceives that which is not perceived by the opera-
tor, it is  Clairvoyance.
  The difference in principle between sympathy and Clair-
voyance is very slight.  The only difference is in the objects
from which the currents of Etherium are evolved.  When
the organ of Consciousness and  its dependent organs in the
operator, are the points from which the emanation is evolved
to the organ of Consciousness and other organs of the subject,
the result is sympathy ;  but when the motion of Etherium is
evolved  from any other point, through  abnormal avenues,
to the subject's organ of Consciousness, it is Clairvoyance.
The term Clairvoyance is from from tAvo French words, and
strictly signifies Clear-seeing : although some word which is
more precisely significant of un-isolated perception would be
preferred, yet as there is no such word  I shall adopt  this,
which has the advantage of being in common use, and in our
language it has no other meaning.
   In order to understand Clairvoyance, we must consider 
CLAIRVOYANCE.
211
  1st.  The emanations of etherean motion from  the  objects
perceived.
  2d. The isolation and induction of the brain.
  3d. The modus operandi of Consciousness.

  1st.  Emanation of motion from the objects perceived.—We
never perceive any thing unless when there  is  an etherean
emanation  from  the  object  perceived.   When ordinarily
we  see a thing,  there is  always  an  emanation of  light
from it to the eye.   When we hear any thing,  there  is an
emanation of  serial vibrations from the object heard to the
ear.   When we smell any  thing, there is an emanation of
odorous particles from the odorous  body.  When we  taste
any thing, there is an emanation from the substance tasted,
caused by the chemical action of the  saliva upon the sub-
stance.   When we percehre any thing by touch, there is a
motion emanating  from the substance touched  and  passing
to the brain, which motion was produced  by the mechani-
cal act of touching.  When we feel pain, there  is an  ema-
nation  from the painful and injured  part to the nerve which
is connected with it, passing along the nerve to the organ of
Sanativeness, from the organ of Sanativeness to Conscious-
ness, producing there the feeling or consciousness of pain.
  The same reasoning applies to hunger ; it is produced by
an emanation from the stomach to Alimentiveness, and from
Alimentiveness to Consciousness.   Suffocation  is produced
by an emanation from  the lungs to Pneumativeness, and from
this organ to Consciousness.
  In   Clairvoyance,  the  same  principle is in operation.
There is an  emanation from  the object perceived to the
central organ  of Consciousness in the  subject.   There can-
not possibly be any perception of any kind unless there is
such emanation.
  2d.   The Isolation and  Induction of the  brain.—This  I
have already explained as far as it relates to the communi- 
  12              ETHEROPATHY.

cation of thought and motion from the operator to  the sub-
ject—as far as relates, in truth, to one branch of Clairvoy-
ance, viz. : Sympathetic Clairvoyance.  The same isolating
contrivance Avhich prevents the motions of different persons,
and  different organs of the same person, from interfering
with each other—the very  same contrivance has  been in-
stituted by the all-wise Creator to restrict and limit our
perceptions.   When we consider that motions of Etherium
from the circumference of the brain to  the centre produce
different states of Consciousness; when we  also consider
that every surrounding object in nature is continually re-
ceiving and evolving emanations; we of course  must ac-
knowledge that some contrivance is necessary to prevent
the brain from being continually agitated, and our Conscious-
ness from being continually excited and confused by the in-
numerable currents and motions  of Etherium which are
constantly evolved  from  the infinite  number of  objects
around us.  This contrivance is Isolation;  a peculiarity  of
the structure of organized bodies, which prevents  nearly all
external influences from interfering  Avith their operations,
while it  admits external influences which  are  useful  to
them.  In what the isolation consists, Ave know not; Ave
are certain of the fact that by some  contrivance the isola-
tion is effected, but we are, as yet, entirely ignorant  of the
mode in which it is effected.
   The eyes are not influenced by sounds, nor the ears by
light, but Consciousness is indirectly affected by both.  The
reason is, that the eyes are isolated from all other influences
except the stimulus of the light, and  the ears  are isolat-
ed from  all other influences except the stimulus of  sound.
If we had no  eyes we  should be  entirely ignorant  of the
existence of light, because all our other organs  are isolated
from its influence.   A blind man, who never heard of lio-ht
until the age of thirty, would be  perfectly skeptical  con-
cerning  its existence.  It would  be incomprehensible  to 
C L A I RV O Y A N C E.
213
him that things could be perceived by eyes, at such great
distances, while by ears they could not be perceived at all.
Not having any experience of his own on the subject, he
would necessarily  be  dependent  upon  the testimony of
those about him who professed to have this wonderful facul-
ty.   Very much the same is it with us in reference to clair-
voyant  subjects.   We  cannot see Avithout  our eyes,  nor
hear without our ears, nor  feel without  contact;  but  the
inducted subject can do all this ; he, with his eyes closed and
carefully bandaged, can see, or rather can perceive  through
walls impervious to light and sound, and  at immense  dis-
tances—can perceive, indeed, in a way as incomprehensible
to us as the perceiving with eyes was to the blind man.  The
blind man could not conceh-e of the existence  of any fluid,
or medium, or menstruum, finer than air.  He  was wholly
ignorant concerning light, which is millions of times finer
and more subtile than air, and can therefore penetrate where
air cannot, and communicate its motions  with a degree of
rapidity, and to a distance  of which air is altogether inca-
pable.   Yet it is very evident that there are other motions
exceedingly more rapid than those of light.  La Place de-
monstrated, in 1773, that " the attractive force of gravity must
 be transmitted fifty million times faster than light, which travels
 at the rate of two hundred thousand miles in a second."  ( See
 " Lectures on the Progress of the Physical Sciences," by Prof:
 Thompson, of the University of Glasgow.)
   Light cannot penetrate boards and stone walls, but mag-
 netic Etherium can do so ;  for a magnet  affects  iron filings
 through such obstacles, almost as if there was nothing  in
 the way ; and so also does gravitation.   It is plain that  if
 Ave  could perceive through the medium  of this motion  of
 Etherium instead of light, we could see through boards and
 Avails as easily as the magnet  operates  through them ;  for
 the magnet operates in the dark just as well as in the light.
 We  must conclude, therefore, from  the great number  of 
214
ETHEROPATHY.
facts which we  have upon this  subject,  that there is an
Etherium, or a motion of Etherium, different from light, by
means of which the force of gravitation is communicated ;
and another modification of Etherium,  by means of which
magnetism penetrates through opaque bodies.  It, therefore,
requires no stretch of the imagination to admit a modifica-
tion of Etherium which affects the brain and its organs, and
produces Consciousness and Clairvoyance in a subject who
is, by the process of etherean induction, brought into com-
munication with it.
  If we analyze a sunbeam, we can demonstrate that besides
light and heat it contains another kind  or motion of Ethe-
rium, different from light and  heat, which produces power-
ful chemical effects ; and yet we  have no senses given to us
by which to enable us  to  perceive by its means, though it
may sometimes abnormally induct us and .produce clairvoy-
ant perception.
  It seems to me,"that  that there cannot be a doubt in the
mind of a philosopher who examines this subject carefully,
that  there is a peculiar form or  modification of Etherium,
which has, with some propriety, been  denominated animal
magnetism, and which is concerned in producing all the phe-
nomena of animal  life and all the wonders of Etheropathy
and mesmerism.  We seem forced to this conclusion as the
only one which will account for facts which we are not able
to controvert.
  If we take a magnet and bring it near to a piece of iron,
and make a number of passes across the iron, the  peculiar
motions of the magnet  are communicated  to the iron  so
that it becomes a magnet itself.  This is Induction.  A piece
of iron cannot be placed near a magnet for any considerable
time without  becoming  in some  degree  inducted, losing
its own independent motions and submitting to the influence
of the neighboring magnet.  Precisely so it is with the in- 
C L A I RVO Y A N C E.
S15
ducted subject; the cases are as nearly parallel as the dif-
ferent natures of the two bodies will admit.

   3d.  The mode  in which  the  organs  normally pro-
duce Consciousness, after they are impressed by emanations
from external objects, must be understood in order to ena-
ble us to understand Clairvoyance.
   They produce  Consciousness  precisely in the same way
 in Clairvoyance as they do in ordinary normal perception.
 The difference between Clairvoyant perception and com-
 mon normal perception is in the manner in which the phre-
 no-organs are excited by the emanation ; or rather it depends
 upon  the different modes  by which emanations reach  the
 phreno-organs to excite them to action. In common percep-
 tion the motion of Etherium is restricted to pass in certain
 prescribed avenues which we denominate the senses; but in
 Clairvoyance, in  consequence of the isolation being over-
 come, the emanation passes  directly  to the brain through
 the skull, or through the feet, or hands, or sides, or through
 any other part where the  isolation is  especially weakened
    In common perception the emanation is permitted to reach
  the brain only through certain limited, defined and restricted
  avenues or senses ; and even through these passages the pure
  and unencumbered motions  of Etherium do not seem to be
  allowed to  pass.   In the sense of taste the  Etherium is con-
  veyed to  (or  moved in) the  external  organ by a liquid
  which dissolves the substance tasted.  In the sense of smell
  the motions are conveyed by currents of air, which are adul-
  terated, or mingled with atoms of the  odorous  substance
  perceived.   In  the sense of hearing, the emanation is con-
  veyed in pulsations or vibrations of air.  In the sense of
   sight, the  emanation is  conveyed or moved by  currents,
   pulsations, or rays of light.
     But in  Clairvoyance the brain seems to  be excited by
   Etherium in a different state-by emanations which are ordi- 
216               ETHEROPATHY.

narily excluded by isolation—and which are introduced in
opposition to the isolating guards.   When  this more pure
emanation is fairly introduced, and a current of it caused to
proceed from a distant object to the subject, it passes direct-
ly through the skull, or some other  abnormal passages, and
reaches the organs of Form and Color, &c, and excites them
so as to cause them to produce a state  of Consciousness the
same as if the subject had seen the distant object with his
eyes.  I Avish the idea to be distinctly  understood, that Con-
sciousness and perception of every kind is, in all  cases, pro-
duced by the Phreno-organs of the brain;  that in common
perception and  in Clairvoyance, the brain, operates in the
same manner.  In both cases the Phreno-organs must be ex-
cited  and must perform their functions before  perception
can take place. It is a great error to suppose that in Clair-
voyance a person can perceive without his brain because he
perceives without his senses.  It is absurd to suppose that
a person perceives color without the organ of color, because
he perceives without his eyes.
   In order, then, to explain Clairvoyance, it is only neces-
sary to admit  that the Phreno-organs  of  perception may
be excited through other avenues than the external senses.
   According to this explanation, Clairvoyance is no more
mysterious than any other phenomena  of  Etheropathy or
mesmerism.   Many persons are willing  to admit that sleep
may be produced by the inducting process, but deny Clair-
voyance as impossible ; but it will now be perceived  that it
requires no new principle to explain Clairvoyance after the
etherean or mesmeric sleep is admitted ; for sleep and sym-
pathy and Clairvoyance  are produced  in the same way, by
the same  agent and the  same process applied to different
objects.
   The inquiry will naturally arise,  " Why did  not the Cre-
ator endow us  all with the  powers of Clairvoyance ? Why
should such  a wonderful power be withheld from the most 
CLAIRVOYANCE.             217
perfect and healthy men, and yet be occasionally bestoAved
upon some weak and debilitated individual."  To my mind,
the reason is obvious.  The Creator has placed us in a situa-
tion Avhere a certain amount  of knowledge is necessary to
enable us to perform our duties, and he has bestoAved upon
us organs so contrived as to enable us to acquire this know-
ledge with ease, provided we make a proper  use of the
means which he has placed within our reach and the powers
which he has bestoAved upon us.  A greater amount of know-
ledge, instead of being a blessing,  would be injurious, and
it is Avithheld from us in mercy ; every animal in existence
Avill be  found to have the  means of acquiring knowledge
enough to harmonize  with his condition and to enable him
to satisfy his wants.  More knowledge would  be an  em-
barrassment.
   Suppose that a man could  hear every movement  which
takes place not only on  the earth but in the most distant of
the innumerable planets ;  and suppose he could see  every
thing in existence,  Avould it not  be a source of  inconceiva-
ble annoyance ? would  it not render his life a burden ?  I
do not doubt that an omniscient man would be utterly  mis-
erable.  It is enough for us, then, that we  are so organized,
that by making an industrious use of our powers, we can
learn all that it is necessary for us to know in order  to en-
able us to fulfil our destiny according to the designs  of the
Supreme Creator.
   But still you will ask, Avhy the  poAver of Clairvoyance is
bestowed upon some persons ? I answer, that Clairvoyance
is the result of Aveakness. It is in itself a species of disease,
and like all  other diseases it is a violation of the naturaf
laAvs of the constitution.   It was never intended by the
Creator, so far  as his intention is indicated in the organiza-
tion of man, that such a power should be possessed by man;
for, instead of making  any provision  for it,  (as he  would
doubtless have done if he had designed it,) the Creator has
                10* 
218
ETHEROPATHY.
ordained a most  wonderful series of regulations to prevent
it.  By isolating the organs and giving them limits and res-
trictions, he  has virtually said to  each of them, thus far
shalt thou go with propriety, and produce happiness, but no
farther.  Clairvoyance is  an  overleaping of the bounds to
reach the forbidden fruit of the tree of prohibited knowledge.
My object in  making  these  remarks is not to prevent any
one from making use of this means  of acquiring knowledge,
but to convey a clear expression of the view which I take
of the real nature of Clairvoyance,  and to rebut the absurd
doctrine  of Sunderland, Buchanan  and  others, that Clair-
voyance depends upon a peculiar organ which was bestowed
upon man for that very purpose. 
SECTION  XII.
         ETHEROPATHY —CONTINUED.

  6. Deranged function produced by induction.—This prin-,
ciple, combined  with the principles of  Will, Sympathy,
Credence and Clairvoyance, account for all the phenomena
and explain  all the experiments, whether they are known
under the name  of Neurology, Pathetism, Hypnotism, or
Mesmerism: for they are in reality but so many instances
of peculiar derangement—of abnormal  condition—of depar-
ture from proper and healthful operations.
  This is true  of the Sympathy, Clairvoyance and Creden-
cive delusion which I have already explained ; and, by ap-
plying these principles, we may unravel  any case, however
difficult, and reduce it to such simple terms  that any person
of common intelligence can understand it.
  Bearing in mind the principles which I have already ad-
vanced  and the explanations  which  I have made, let us
apply them to  analyze the different phenomena which have
been the subject of discussion and experiment by those who
have most attracted public attention.
  The subject may be discussed under the following beads :
  1. Etheropathic, or mesmeric sleep.
  2. Manifestations of uncommon strength.
  3. Conferring extraordinary power upon medicine, water-
motion, and  other substances.
  4. Discovering diseases, their location, cause and cure. 
220
ETHEROPATHY.
   5.  Reading  the  characters of persons Avith  whom  the
subjects are in communication.
   6. Discoveries in phrenology and physiology.
   7. Communing Avith departed spirits.
   8. Abuses and  dangers attending Etheropathic  experi-
ments.
  1. Etheropathic Sleep.—This is generally one of the very
first effects of Etheropathic Induction.   The subject feels a
sensation similar to that experienced when going into ordi-
nary sleep ; and his nodding, and the relaxation of his mus-
cles, often imitate common sleep perfectly.  Noav, mark the
difference : a third person speaks but the subject does not
hear him.  The operator speaks and the subject hears him
and answers, or attempts to answer  and finds  bis tongue
paralyzed.   A third person  takes  hold  of the subject  and
pinches him, burns him, pricks him, and tries every way to
excite his attention, but the subject remains totally uncon-
scious  of all his attempts.   The  operator gently  touches
him, and he shrinks with the strongest signs  of sensitive-
ness.    The  operator commands him to  perceive  when a
third person touches him, and now he shows Consciousness
in return to  the slightest touch from the very person who
could not rouse him before by the most cruel  experiments.
In order to explain this, we must  recollect  that the  isola-
tion of the  organs of the subject is overcome, so  that  the
currents  of Etherium from  the operator's brain  interfere
with the currents of Etherium from the brain of the sub-
ject.   The  currents from the  subject's  brain  are either
neutralized or conformed to the currents of the operator, so
that now no current of Etherium can enter the brain of the
subject through the external senses ; but currents are  pass-
ing through the organs of the subject from the brain of  the
operator with great vigor.  The senses  of the subject  can
be affected  by the operator, or  by any object  which  the
operator permits to be in communication.   Those  currents 
ABNORMAL  SLEEP.
221
  are cut off Avhich normally pass to and from the subject's
  brain and connect it with surrounding objects.
    Sometimes the  external  senses, the voluntary muscles
  and the organs of mind, seem to be all, or nearly all, induct-
  ed ;  so that the subject is almost as entirely under the con-
  trol  of the  operator, as if the subject was but a part of the
  operator himself.   But much oftener it  happens, that all the
  efforts of the  operator fail to induct the subject except in a
  few  organs.  At first the current from the brain of the sub-
  ject  to his eyes may be interrupted, so that  the subject can-
  not open them Avithout the consent of the operator ; perhaps
  also the lips become immovable from a similar cause ; but
  the hearing is not yet much affected, and by an uncommon
  effort he can move his limbs ; the mind is but little affected
  and  the subject knows what he  is about and has the power,
  and  perhaps  the disposition, to  oppose the  operator and en>
,  deavor to thwart his plans  and wishes.   The  explanation
  of this is,  that  only  a few bodily organs are cut  off from
  their natural etherean connection with the brain. The other
  organs are too  securely isolated,  or else too powerful  to
  be overcome.
    When the external senses and the perceptive organs Avhich
  are dependent upon them are thoroughly inducted, the sub-
  ject  is asleep ; that is, he is  in such a condition, that if the
  operator  asks him if  he  is asleep, he will  say "A/es."  I
  take it that the  Avhole brain is not asleep at this time, for
  the  subject will sometimes complain of thirst, Aveariness, or
  suffocation ;  shoAving that the internal-corporeal senses are
  active, and that those organs of the brain are awake which
  preside over the  Avants of the body,  though the perceptive
  organs are undoubtedly asleep, except so far as their activity
  depends upon the operator—they are certainly in  that con-
  dition, Avhatever it may be, Avhich  gives the subject a Con-
  sciousness that  he  is asleep, for he will generally ansAver 
222
ETHEROPATHY.
positively that he is asleep.   This leads me to inquire con-
cerning an
                    ORGAN  OF SLEEP.
  Is there an organ of mind  located in the brain, the func-
tion of which is  to  give a  disposition to sleep ?  If so, in
what part of the brain is it located ?  and what is its nature,
its utility, and the design of the Creator in bestowing it ? To
what class of organs does it  belong, Ipseal, Social, or Intel-
lectual ?   If Ipseal, to what range of Ipseals ?
  I have  reflected much upon this subject, as I deem it one
of much  interest in a phrenological point of view, and I
have at length come to the conclusion that there is no organ
of Sleep per se.   There is  a state of Consciousness which
we call drowsiness  or sleepiness, and this is  accompanied
with an  inability to keep the voluntary muscles, especially
those of the eyes, in a state of contraction.   Now it must
be admitted, that this Consciousness of  drowsiness, is pro-
duced  by a  particular Phreno-organ, and so also is the con-
traction  of  the  muscles,  which constitute  wakefulness,
dependent upon an especial  Phreno-organ.  The tendency
to sleep is indicated by an inability to contract the voluntary
muscles, and to keep the senses active.   Sleep is  a nega-
tive power.  A man asleep is a man doing nothing.  Surely
an organ for doing nothing is unneccessary.  I have shown,
in another  place, that  sleep is produced by the predomi-
nance  of the  involuntary  ganglia.   These are  the only
organs of sleep, but they are not Phreno-organs ; they give
no tendency to do any thing voluntarily, but on  the contrary,
they tend to prevent all voluntary action.
   The consciousness of drowsiness, which we experience,
is produced by the organ of Sanativeness, in consequence of
a peculiar weariness of those parts, whose function it is to
keep the senses active, and the muscles connected with
them in a state of contraction. 
ABNORMAL  SLEEP.
223
  The function of the organ of Sanativeness, is to produce
consciousness and  action when any part  is  exhausted, in-
jured, diseased, wearied, or needs our care  and  attention.
If any part of the constitution is exhausted in a certain slight
degree, Sanativeness is affected accordingly, and produces a
consciousness of weariness;  if to a greater degree, a con-
sciousness of pain; so that weariness would seem to be but
a slight degree of pain—it differs from pain only  in degree.
The pain produced by the injury  of one part  of the body, is
different from that produced by another part, and  the weari-
ness produced by the too prolonged activity of one organ, is
different  from that produced  by another.   Now, it would
seem that drowsiness is the peculiar weariness of  the senses
and their auxiliary muscles, and it affects the organ of Sana-
tiveness accordingly.   It may be that the organ of Sana-
tiveness is constituted of a great number  of departments, to
correspond Avith the different parts of the body, which are
liable to exhaustion and disease ;  and if so, then  there may
be  one department which presides over the sanatary condi-
tion of the  senses and  their dependent muscles.   Such a
department, if it does exist, produces the consciousness of
drowsiness, or the exhaustion of the muscles. In this sense,
 Sanativeness  may be called the  organ  of Sleep.   But an
organ of Sleep, such as Buchanan, Sunderland  and others
 admit, does not exist beyond their own imaginations.
   If there were such a propensity, it would, of course, be an
 Ipseal of the  corporeal range—it would be one of  the very
lowest  organs  in location  and  function,—since the very
lowest class of organized beings possess it in perfection, and
 sleep  all, or  nearly all, the time of their lives.  Dr. Bu-
 chanan claims to  have discovered an organ of Sleep and
 another  of .Somnolence !   His notions  are in  themselves
 really unworthy of a serious refutation.   I  doubt whether
 the annals of science can furnish an instance of the violation
 of all the rules of common  sense equal to that  which this 
2:24
ETHEROPATHY.
gentleman has perpetrated under the name of "Neurology."
His  errors are so gross, and, to one acquainted Avith  the
elements of phrenology, so  palpable, as  to  lead us  almost
to suspect that the doctor is amusing himself by trying ex-
periments upon the public credulity, and attempting to rival
Mr.  Locke by  producing  another scientific  fiction  more
marvelous than  even the   celebrated moon  hoax.   But
there is something connected with  the notions of Dr. Bu-
chanan, that entitle them to a degree of notice Avhich their
intrinsic merit by no means deserve ; and  that  is, the cir-
cumstance that hundreds of respectable  persons, including
some of the  most distinguished men in our country, have
been so far misled by a superficial examination  as  to give
to them the sanction of their names and characters ; so that
the general impression throughout this country,  at present,
is, that Dr. Buchanan  has  actually made  some important
discoveries in phrenology and physiology, and that he really
proves phrenology by his practice of exciting the organs of
the brain.  Whereas, the truth  is  that he  has  not added
any thing to our knowledge, nor made a single  discovery.
His  pretensions  may justly be  classed with  those  of Joe
Smith and Father Miller.   I do  not speak thus positively
on this subject without having first examined it.   I have
repeated his experiments upon hundreds of susceptible sub-
jects, and proved the utter falsity of his boasted  " wonder-
ful discoveries,"  by the  very method which he himself pro-
poses to establish their truth, and  that is, by experiment.
Dr. Buchanan locates his " organ of Sleep" between Com-
bativeness and Cautiousness, and his organ of " Somnolence"
near the organ  of  Tune.   His  location  of the organ of
" Sleep" is a violation of a perfectly established principle of
phrenology—which is,  that the  poAvers  that  are the most
essentially animal and corporeal  in their nature  have their
organs in the lowest portions of the brain.  How then can
sleep have an  organ above Combativeness and Acquisitive- 
ABNORMAL  SLEEP.
225
ness, Avhere Dr. B. has placed it ?  If there is a tendency
more especially low and anti-intellectual in the catalogue of
human powers than any other, it is the tendency to sleep :
if, therefore, there is  an organ which is the agent  of this
tendency, it must be at the very base  of the brain,  taking
precedence of all others.
   But I am told, perhaps, by  some very innocent witness of
Dr. B.'s experiments, that he certainly does put his subjects
to sleep with no other ceremony than merely holding  his
finger upon that part of the head Avhere he has located  the
organ of sleep.   I ansAver that  I have no doubt of  it; and
neither do I doubt that he could put them to sleep, just  as
well, by putting  his finger on  the nose or any other part,
especially if the subject expected to be put to sleep and was
susceptible.  I have often put them  to sleep by simply tell-
ing them to go  to sleep, and without  touching them at  all.
Would it not be an unpardonable deception then, if, I were
to put my finger on a certain part of the head and  pretend
that this was the means and  the organ by which the sleep
Avas produced, when  I could produce the same effect  by
touching any other part, or even by not touching at all ?  If
touching certain parts of a fresh subject sometimes aids  and
facilitates the sleep, it is, doubtless, because it facilitates the
induction and stops the action of several organs, and not  be-
cause it excites a particular one.
   A person Avho has been once inducted,  can be  inducted
again Avith much more ease  than before.   There  are two
reasons for this :  one  is, that the  isolation is weakened  and
rendered pervious ; the other is, that the conforming organs
are excited by the recollection that once before he has been
overcome, and this leads him to expect and believe that he
Avill be  overcome again.
   There is a very great difference in subjects, in regard to
the length of time that the influence will continue to affect
them.   Some will for weeks after they have been inducted 
226
ETHEROPATHY.
be highly susceptible to induction, so that the slightest effort
made by the  operator, with their knowledge, is sufficient  to
render them powerless.   I know a young lady of Syracuse,
who is so susceptible, that if any one converses upon the
subject of mesmerism in her presence, she will become rigid
and unable to move ; the consequence is,  that  the  family
are obliged to abstain from mentioning the subject  in her
presence.  In this case,  I have no doubt  that  the  power
that paralyzes her is Avithin her own brain, though  the con-
versation of others may call it into action.   It is  my opinion
that any organ of the brain may paralyze the whole system
under some circumstances : fear often does this, and so does
joy and sorrow.   Subjects are often extremely fanciful, ca-
pricious  and  unmanageable,  in consequence of  the self-in-
ducting power of their own organs foiling  the  attempts of
the operator  to  influence them.   Such subjects are apt  to
acquire eccentricities and  apparently unaccountable pecu-
liarities in relation to their susceptibility.  The explanation
of their cases may be found in  the idle and foolish notions
which they haAre imbibed.  I know a lady in Cooperstown,
for instance, wrho becomes instantly paralyzed  if any one
inducts or attempts to induct  her for  a moment, and nothing
will relieve  her but touching a certain part  of her head.
Her sister, Avhom she has much reason to love, fills her with
horror if she approaches her.   The medical  gentleman,
whose patient she is, was greatly  puzzled with these things
until I explained to him the  nature of Credenciveness, and
showed  him by a  variety of experiments that the brain
of the subject manufactured all the difficulty, on the princi-
ciple of  insane Credenciveness, and  that no other subject
would present a case perfectly parallel unless  there was  an
opportunity  afforded for  a communication or imitation  of
symptoms.   It is not unusual for a Avhole community to  be
inducted by imitation and Credencive Induction,  so as to  be
subject to delusions, panics and diseases ; and  the  most ex- 
               ABNORMAL  SLEEP.           227

traordinary physical and moral effects are produced through
the agency of the physical organs of Imitativeness and Cre-
denciveness.  A full and sufficient explanation of the causes
of the Salem-Witchcraft delusion is furnished by applying
these principles.

      2.  MANIFESTATIONS OF UNCOMMON STRENGTH.
   The inducted  subject sometimes manifests a degree of
strength, Avhich he  cannot possibly manifest  in his normal
state.  The explanation is,  that the currents of Etherium
from the brain of the operator unite their power with those
of the subject, and both brains are actually moving one  set
of muscles through one set of nerves ;  there is  increased
intensity, analogous to that produced in  the galvanic battery
by increasing the number  of  plates, so that those muscles
can manifest a  corresponding strength.   Insane persons
sometimes manifest a most  wonderful  amount of personal
strength in consequence of  great excitement of the brain;
but in their cases, the excitement is succeeeded by  a re-
action, accompanied with uncommon prostration and weak-
ness.  Not so the  externally inducted subject, he  often
makes the most powerful efforts, and being thoroughly re-
plenished and sustained by the operator, awakes without
any sense  of fatigue or exhaustion.   I have observed, on
such occasions, that the operator is exhausted though  the
 subject is not; owing, as I  suppose, to the drain Avhich the
 subject makes upon the operator.   Sometimes the sub-
ject complains of exhaustion, but this is because he is not sup-
 plied and sustained by the operator, but by his own organs,
 and they begin to feel the effect of his exertions ;  or the un-
 easiness of the subject may be from sympathy with an  ex-
 hausted operator.  The correctness of this reasoning is con-
 firmed by the fact, that, when a  subject is put to sleep  and
 aroused again after a reasonable time, without being made
 to exert himself while asleep, he almost always awakes re- 
228
ETHEROPATHY.
freshed and with a feeling  similar to that experienced on
aAvakening from a common sleep.

3. CONFERRING EXTRAORDINARY  POWER  UPON WATER,  ME-
                   DICINE,  FOOD, &C.
  The only Avay in which food, medicine, or anything else
has any effect upon organized beings is by evolving motions
of Etherium, Avhich act upon the organs.  The reason why
different articles of food or  medicine have different effects
upon our organs is, because they evolve different etherean
motions—that this is so, can easily be shown by experiment.
Take a highly susceptible subject, one who is  capable of
Sympathy  and Clairvoyance, and take any article of medi-
cine, put it into a  glass vessel carefully corked and hold it
in your hand,  or let the subject hold it, and the medicine
will have precisely the  same  effect as if the subject swal-
lowed it in the ordinary way.   It  seems to  me  impossible
to explain this, except on the principle, that the medicine
evolves motions of Etherium in a peculiar  manner, which
communicates with the organs of the subject and affects
them,  although the glass intervened.  This can be  done
upon some  subjects, even if the  operator  does not know
what medicine is in the phial. Again; the operator can pro-
duce, by his will alone, the same effects which are produced
by  any medicine ;  this fact proves that the will  and the
medicine have one power in common.  What can it be but
the poAver of giving peculiar motions to the Etherium ?
Again ; the operator can do the same without either medicine
or will, but merely by assertion.   I can produce a hundred
subjects in the valley of the Hudson River, including some of
the  most respectable  persons in this State, Avho  will make
oath that ice burns their fingers when I assert that " it is hot"
—and  they will   do this  when perfectly  awake, and ap-
parently in possession of all their faculties—being rational
on every other subject but this. 
ABNORMAL  SLEEP.
229
  I can give the subject in this condition a glass of water
and assert that it is brandy, and it produces the same effects
upon  his  taste and  feelings as if it really  Avere  brandy.
This will happen, even if I will that it shall have no effect
at all.   These are facts which cannot be denied, nor even
doubted.  The number and character of the  subjects  ren-
der this impossible.   I can do this to one person in twenty
throughout the United States, and can teach  any  one  else
to do it.   The facts must therefore be  disposed  of in some
other way than by denying them.  I have already explained
them by showing that an assertion excites one of the largest
organs of the brain, and with the aid of Induction  this one
produces a peculiar kind of monomania, in which the same
motions are produced and imitated in the brain by the  Cre-
dencive imagination, which are ordinarily produced by the
brandy or the fire.
   Since all sensations are immediately produced by motions
of Etherium in the nerves and brain, any means which can
cause those motions can produce corresponding sensations.
An assertion produces motions in Credenciveness, and Cre-
denciveness  modifies and  communicates them to all the
other organs as far as is requisite to cause the result asserted.
In  short, the whole brain becomes the slave  of Credencive-
ness, and Credenciveness is the slave  of an  assertion.  In
these Credencive experiments it should be understood that
the motions of Etherium do not emanate from the  substance-
medicine, water, &c.,—but from the deranged organs of the
subject himself.  He is in the same condition as  many  in-
 sane persons who live for years in the belief that their own
 limbs are glass, or that they themselves are birds, or plants,
 or monarchs, or departed spirits.

 4.  DISCOVERING THE DISEASES OF PATIENTS, OR OF THEM-
          SELVES, AND PRESCRIBING MODES OF CURE.
    Subjects can often discover the diseases, injuries, or  pains 
230
ETHEROPATHY.
of persons with whom they are in communication on the
principle of Sympathy, which I have explained, or on the
principle of Clairvoyance, or on both combined.   By Sym-
pathy, they know the feelings and motions which  the patient
experiences at the time when they are in communication.
By Clairvoyance, they know the  appearance of  the injured
parts; and from these data they sometimes are able  to prescribe
medical treatment which is well calculated to effect a cure.
Medicine, as I have  already had  occasion to explain, pro-
duces its effects by modifying the motions of  Etherium  in
the organs  of the  patient.  There are doubtless hundreds
of substances which possess the most powerful medical vir-
tues, though they are not known  to scientific men ; for we
have had no means of learning the  qualities of medicines
except by accidental observations and by  experiments.
   It is  not unlikely that the clairvoyant subject perceives
operations in  diseased organs and virtues in medical  sub-
stances, which to one in the normal state are imperceptible.
Perhaps the reasoning powers of the subject, as well as his
other powers,  sometimes become morbidly active, and enable
him to judge and  predict, with a degree of correctness which
seems almost  miraculous, the result of disease or the effect
of medicine.   I have thus admitted fully on this point the
just claims of operators as far as regards "the philosophical
principles  involved, and I refer to Sympathy and Clairvoy-
ance  for  their explanation; but I must  now confess, that
although  true in principle, Clairvoyance  is uncertain  in
practice.
   It is a fact  that experiments  in Clairvoyance  are, in a
majority of attempts, entire failures.  It is a fact that experi-
ments in Sympathy are successful much oftener than  those
in Clairvoyance.   Yet it is also a fact that the  clain'oyant
subject  is  sometimes so perfectly correct, and  under  such
circumstances, as to entirely exclude  the possibility of de-
ception,  collusion, or  mistake.   This has been the great 
ABNORMAL  SLEEP.
231
3tumbling block of skeptics.  Having perhaps heard or read
of some astonishing feat of Clairvoyance, they protest that
it  is impossible, and accuse the  narrator of falsehood or
weakness; and,when challenged to witness the experiment
for themselves, they accept promptly the invitation.  Prepa-
rations are made, expectations are raised, a triumph is an-
ticipated, when, alas ! the experiment fails.  The operator
cannot tell why ;  accuses the  weather, the presence of
skeptics, the  noise in the room, his own want of health or
concentration;  offers to  try it again, and  then proceeds to
give the most wonderful accounts of  feats which  he has
performed  on  other  occasions; so  he  declares upon his
honor.  During all this time the  skeptics, too polite per-
haps  to express their  sentiments verbally, answer with
"Oh!" "Indeed!" and shrugs and looks of suppressed
contempt;  and  finally,  take  their  leave fully confirmed in
their skepticism, and afterwards refuse to listen candidly or
look fairly  upon the subject.
   Do  you ask  me why there need be  so many failures ?
why, if Clairvoyance  succeeded yesterday, it should fail to-
day ?  I answer frankly, that I do not  know ; I know the
fact only, and I say that a thousand failures do not disprove
one instance  of success.
   The Avonder to me  is, not  that  there should be failures,
but that there should ever be success.  When I reflect that
every  successful experiment in Clairvoyance is a triumph
over the laws of the constitution, and that creative wisdom
has been displayed  in preventing the success of such opera-
tions, I am  by no means  astonished  that success is an excep-
tion and failure the general result.  I am rather astonished
that a single  phenomenon of this character can be produced
at all ; and Avere it not  that I am forced to yield  to irresisti-
ble evidence, I should  be  disposed to deny the truth  of
Clairvoyance altogether ;  and, indeed, of all other Ethero-
pathic phenomena. 
232
ETHEROPATHY.
  All the different kinds of experiments are more success-
ful  at  one  time than another, though  performed upon the
same subject, without our being able to assign any sufficient
reason. But when we reflect that the electric and magnetic
states of the atmosphere  are  continually varying, without
our being able to assign the reasons, we ought not to be sur-
prised that similar variations are found in Etheropathy.
  I advise  no one  to rely upon clairvoyant subjects in cases
of disease, but I would respectfully recommend to  physi-
cians to weigh their testimony candidly and give it all  the
attention which it  really deserves. Let it be borne in mind,
that though sometimes astonishingly correct, they are oftener
insanely romantic.

5.  READING THE CHARACTERS OF THOSE  WITH  WHOM THE
              SUBJECT IS IN COMMUNICATION.
   This is but a species of clairvoyant sympathy, for if the
motions of the operator or  any  one else  in communication
are made to affect the subject, and he is  conscious  of the
affection, he can, of course,  judge of its character.  A sub-
ject who is ignorant of phrenology will sometimes examine
the head of a person and  tell  the character with tolerable
accuracy.   I take it that this is done by  the subject being
slightly affected by each organ,  and that he judges of the
relative influence  of the mental powers by their relative  ef-
fect upon himself at the time of  his sympathetic communi-
cation.
   Subjects can sometimes read the character and disease of
a person by merely feeling  of a handkerchief, or a lock of
hair which belonged to that person.  Such subjects are rare,
but they are sometimes found.  This seems incredible, and,
when admitted to be true,  is exceedingly wonderful; but
 our wonder is doubtless principally caused by  the novelty,
 rather,  than the  impossibility of the thing,  for is  it not
 equally incomprehensible that a  dog can tell by putting his 
READING  CHARACTER.        233
nose within a few inches of a stone upon which tAventy per-
sons and animals of different kinds have trodden, and if his
master, or a fox, or any favorite game has for an  instant
been standing upon the stone, the dog perceives it as he
runs rapidly along over the stone.  How can Ave explain
this but by saying that there is an emanation of some kind
from the animal  which impregnated the stone.
  I once tried an experiment  with  a kitten about three
months old, which I was certain had  never seen  a mouse.
I brought a covered tub into the room, in which was a mouse,
intending to let it out  and  see  whether the kitten would
catch it; but before I opened the the tub the kitten  gave
the strongest evidences that she already kneAV its inhabitant.
She evidently  perceived it without sight or hearing, through
the covered tub.  Was this not reading character in a man-
ner quite as wonderful  as that of the Clairvoyant subject ?
If  you  say  that she  smelt it, I might  ask how by that
means  she knew that it was her natural prey ?
  Take a carrier pigeon  a thousand  miles blindfolded, by
a circuitous route, and  it Avill return by the most direct line
that can be drawn.   Did  the pigeon smell home ?  How
then, if not by smell, does the bird know the way home?
I have  seen a company of about tAvelve persons, nearly all
strangers to each other and to the subject, take their hand-
kerchiefs and mix them together in a box and then present it to
the blindfolded subject, who took the handkerchiefs all out,
and as  each owner presented his band,  the subject selected
and returned his property.   I have seen the same subject
tell correctly by  feeling the hands of persons whether they
were of the same family.   I have seen a ring handed to  a
subject, and the  owner of the ring, who lived at a distance,
described—the sex, health,  residence and  state  of mind,
and many other  circumstances, with  great accuracy, in
most particulars  ; though I  never saw an instance  in which
there were no  mistakes made in the  description, if many
              11 
234
ETHEROPATHY.
questions  were asked.  I can  understand  as  Avell how a
Clairvoyant subject can tell the character of the person by
the emanations from the handkerchief, as I can Iioav the dog
can tell the character by  a footstep, or a pigeon his  home
without even one sign or circumstance to afford a hint in
any way that we know of.
  There  are several Avays in which the subject may get his
information;  one is by sympathy with the person or persons
present, Avho have in their own minds a knowledge  of the
person inquired about.   Another way is by emanations
from the ring or handkerchief.  The  ring being inducted by
the Etherium of the owner, partially retains and communi-
cates the motions which  it has received, just  as a magnet
does, or a scented handkerchief.  Another way is by Clair-
voyance : the ring, if it has continued to emanate motions of
Etherium all the Avay from the place where the OAvner re-
sides to the residence of the subject,  has made a path which
may aid  the ClairAToyant subject in finding him, and estab-
lishing a communication Avith him so as to perceive his con-
dition : just as we  look around for any desired object, and
when we at length  discern it,  we ha\re established a com-
munication by means of light with the  object.   It  is in re-
ality no more wonderful that the subject in his peculiar in-
ducted condition, should perceive a hundred miles by Ethe-
rium through opaque intervening bodies, than it is that Ave
can perceive by means of light in the way we can through
water, air, glass, &c. The difference is in the  novelty of the
method rather than the magnitude of the performance.
   The difficulty of  conceiving such minute operations as
those  of the motions  of Etherium in a ring,  Avhich can be
communicated to a subject, and followed a hundred miles
to  connect with the owner—this difficulty is not greater
than  that of  conceiving how  eight  millions  of conscious
beings can live and move  in a space  smaller than a mustard
seed, or  how the force of gravity can be  propagated fifty 
                  DISCOVERIES.               235

millions of times faster than light.  The minute is doubtless
as infinite as the grand;  and we commit as  great an  error
by limiting nature to our capacities, as a microscopic insect
would, who should suppose that the north side of the  grain
of earth on which  he lives is the paradise and most import-
ant part of the universe.
   It is with us as it is  with the insect,—what  seem to be
the limits of nature are in truth but the limits of our  OAvn
powers.  The chain of causes and effects is infinite in length,
but Avith  our limited powers  we  can only  perceive a few
intermediate links.  Both extremities  of this chain are mys-
teriously continued far beyond the limits of  human concep-
tion.   Human knowledge in its greatest extent is necessa-
rily cut short at  both extremities.   In all human reasoning
we are forced, through ignorance and weakness, to begin by
assuming first links or principles, and conclude by again con-
fessing that we are at our wit's end. What we call first princi-
ples are  merely the first  links that we  can perceive ; and
Avhat we call a conclusion, is merely the last link which we
can trace.   All human knowledge begins and ends in  igno-
rance.

DISCOVERIES  IN  PHRENOLOGY  AND PHYSIOLOGY  BY MEANS
                   OF ETHEROPATHY.
   In the  year 1S37,  I became acquainted with the late
lamented  Mr. Wing Russell of Syracuse, N. Y., Avho then
resided in Buffalo ;  I  Avas at that time  an unbeliever  in
mesmerism, and  supposed that all Avho were engaged in ex-
periments of this kind were unprincipled and dishonest men;
I therefore  refused to witness any of their performances.
But when I saAV Mr.  Russell, with his beautiful develop-
ment of the moral and intellectual organs, I was forced  to
confess that phrenology  was  at  fault if such  a man was
capable of so gross a deception.  I requested an introduc-
tion, and  told him frankly my opinion.  He replied,  with
benevolent  mildness,  that he  did  not blame  me for my 
236
ETHEROPATHY.
skepticism, as in my case he had  no doubt it was owing to
my want of an opportunity to learn the truth, and that he
Avould willingly show me some  experiments.   He accord-
ingly operated in my presence, upon a young woman named
Catherine, in such a manner as to produce entire conviction
in my mind.
  I was at that time  deeply  engaged in  the  study of
phrenology, and was preparing for  the  press a work  upon
the subject, containing many novel views.  Catherine was
Clairvoyant, and I determined to try an experiment which
I thought Avould be a fair test of  the  truth of mesmerism,
and might posssibly lead to some  important  discovery.
There were many queries  in my mind relative to the  func-
tions of certain parts of the  brain, and it occurred to me that
if she really could perceive, as she pretended that she could,
perhaps I might learn something from her.
  One day when she was inducted so as to be in the Clair-
voyant condition, I asked her to tell me the appearance of
the brain.  She was  put  into  communication  with  Mr.
John T.  Hogoboom, who now resides in Nassau, Rensselaer
county,  N. Y., and she  described his brain with  most
anatomical  precision.   The function of the corpus  callosum
being  unknown to physiologists, I thought I would ask her
if she could perceive what office  it  performed.    After
minutely describing the anterior, middle and posterior com-
missures of the brain, and telling me that they were to con-
nect the two hemispheres together so as to make them act
as one, she said that the office of the collosum was different—
that it did not connect the two halves, but if one half
acquired more fluid than another, that the use of  the cal-
losum was to  conduct the fluid across from one side of the
brain  to  the other, in  order to produce equilibrium.   The
moment  she  mentioned the fluid  I interrupted  her and
asked her what fluid she meant, she answered  " this"  hold-
ing out her fingers, and moving  them  as  if she perceived
something emanating from  them  " this is it," don't you see 
DISCOVERIES.             . 237
it ?  I then asked  her concerning the location and the uses
of several new Phreno-organs, which I supposed that I had
discovered, and to my surprise she answered me without
the least hesitation, and confirmed all my previous  opinions,
not even excepting those opinions which I had never men-
tioned to any one, and which she could only have known
by Clairvoyance.  I wras at the time in much doubt whether
she really perceived the brain, and could see it operate and
know the functions  and forms of  its  different parts, or
whether she acquired her ideas from  sympathy with my
own mind.
   I wrote down, soon after, a memorandum of the  whole
affair in a book, which  I lost  a  few weeks  since in my
travels ;  and which, I will thank the finder to return to me
at my residence in Lansingburgb.  As far as  I know, this
was the first attempt to learn the  functions of the  brain  by
means of mesmerism or Etheropathy ;  and notwithstanding
all  the boasting of the pathetisers and neurologisers,  I still
think that this method is the  only one which will  be  found
of any real use.   I mean, that Clairvoyance is the only in-
strumentality by which we may hope to make discoveries
through the agency of inducted subjects.  But I must con-
fess, that even this method is exceedingly discouraging,
since I find that in those cases where I have had  an op-
portunity to know whether the subject was right or wrong
in his pretensions to  Clairvoyance, the actual result has
been, that he was wrong more than half of the time.   They
are  correct  in  examining the  diseases of patients  much
oftener than in any other kind of Clairvoyance ; but in this
they are perhaps aided in a  considerable degree by sym-
pathy.   It may be, that there is something in the nature of
the human  body  which is  congenial to  the  Etherium of
another human organization,  and this may render it  easier
to establish  a communication with them, so as to produce
Sympathetic Clairvoyance than any other kind.  On this 
238             ETHEROPATHY.

subject there is much need of carefully  observed and con-
nected facts;  but it is unfortunate that most of those Avho
are engaged in making experiments, are such visionary and
credulous persons, that they lead us to error oftener than
to truth.  I shall never complain that people are skeptical
on this subject so long as they do not refuse obstinately to
examine it.    Let us continue to observe, to  examine, to
theorise, to criticise, and skepticize, and turn, and overturn,
until the truth, Avhose right it is, shall reign.
  In January, 1841,1 gave several lectures in Albany, which,
by permission of the legislature, Avere  delivered in the
capitol.  At the close of one of these lectures, the Rev. Mr.
J. M. Garfield came to me and stated that he had discovered
that he could excite any  organ of a mesmerized subject by
merely putting his finger upon it; and when I  expressed  a
doubt of it, he invited me to visit him and witness the ex-
periment for myself; I thanked him, and promised to do so
at the first convenient opportunity.  Before I found time to
call, the same experiments were announced, as performed by
the Rev. La Roy Sunderland, and also by Dr. J. R. Bu-
chanan.  Several others claimed priority in this great dis-
covery, both in Europe and in this country.   There is no
evidence that Sunderland  nor Buchannan made  their ex-
periments before the spring of 1841 ; whereas,  Mr Garfield
made his known to  me  in the  previous winter, so  that  if
there is any honor  in the priority,  it belongs of right  to
 Mr. Garfield : in justice to this gentleman, I will however
 state, that he claims no credit and seeks no notoriety in con-
 nection with the subject.
    So much did the announcement of these discoveries ex-
 cite interest,  that a journal was started  in  this country,
 called  " the  Magnet;"—and another  in  England,  called
 " the Phreno-Magnet"—and both are,  I  believe, still con-
 tinued—the principal object of which was to  advocate and
 disseminate  the "New  Wonders." 
                  DISCOVERIES.               239

  Public  attention was,  however, directed  to  this  sub-
ject  more especially by the  operations of Dr. Buchanan,
as reported by himself, and those Avho acted as committees
appointed by audiences to examine and scrutinize his experi-
ments in NeAV-York, Albany and Boston.  Dr.  Buchanan
came Avith letters of introduction from gentlemen of  high
standing to  some of  the first citizens  of  this  region,
and  as  he professed to have made very great discoveries
in science, he was  received  cordially,  and his subject
taken in hand  by gentlemen of such character as to com-
mand the confidence of the public.  These gentlemen  pub-
lished long and  detailed reports  Avhich  sanctioned all  or
nearly all that Dr. Buchanan had  advanced.   The commit-
tees professed to merely report the facts which they knew
and the experiments  which they  had  Avitnessed,  without
expressing any opinion concerning them ; but the tenor and
complimentary style of the reports, was such  as  to amount
to an official endorsement  of the whole concern.   The edi-
tor of the Democratic Review, the editor of the New-York
Evening Post, Dr. Forry,  Rev.  Mr. Pierpont, and others
of the same high character, publicly expressed their  con-
viction  of the  general truth of Dr.  Buchanan's  doctrines ;
and hundreds  of  others were and indeed are still of the
opinion, that being founded upon experiment they could not
be erroneous.  What greatly added to their confidence, was
the fact that they could repeat the experiments themselves,
and with the most perfect success.  How, then, could  they
be mistaken, when they Avere themselves the operators and
the subjects were their most devoted friends ?  Yet there
is, in my mind, no doubt that the Avhole doctrine is a  most
egregious tissue of moonshine.
  The  subjects  being  under a  peculiar  delusion, deceived
themselves  and   their  operators,  and  both   combined  to
deceive the public, though neither intended  to  do so.  If
an insane man were to asssrt that he possessed the power 
240
ETHEROPATHY.
to work miracles and pretended to actually perform  them,
I should not accuse'him of wilful deception, though I would
say that he deceived himself; and if a number of intelligent
and respectable sane men, should affirm that they were sat-
isfied of the reality of his performances and should so report
to the public, I should be unwilling to accuse  them of frau-
dulent intentions, but I Avould certainly consider their report
as discreditable to their  intellectual  characters and as cal-
culated to do mischief by deceiving and misleading the cre-
dulous portion of the community.
  In the case of Dr. Buchanan and the reports  of his com-
mittees, the mischief is the greater from the fact that they
tend to destroy confidence  in the science of  phrenology.
He professed to produce an entire revolution in this science
—to add thousands of new organs—to change in a moment
the location of organs which had already been established
by years of patient observation.   Some idea can be formed
of the extent to\Arhich this mischievous delusion proceeded,
from the fact that Mr. Fowler in a new edition of his Avork
on phrenology introduced a long catalogue of  new organs,
which he pretends to have discovered by this means ;  and,
furthermore, he professes to have verified them by observa-
tion and examination of crania !
  Mr.  Fowler  has made such an immense number of ex-
aminations of heads and is  supposed by the  multitude  to
understand the subject of  phrenology so well, that  it was
thought  he must certainly be capable of judging Avhether
Dr. Buchanan or Sunderland was right or not ; and, there-
fore, when he declares that he has tested  the  experiments
fully, made important discoveries by means  of them, and
 then proved and verified the discoveries  by  observing the
developments of the  head, he gives his highest testimony
in favor of their truth, pledges his OAvn professional charac-
ter  for skill and accuracy, and must stand or  fall by the re-
sult.  But in the mean time, the public who haA-e relied 
DISCOVERIES.
241
upon him are misled by his unfounded assertions;  and the
new organs which be has endorsed have vanished to  the land
of dreams from whence they originated.  I can sincerely pity
Mr. FoAvler, for having,  by his imprudent zeal and  unintel-
lectual ambition, placed  himself in such an  awkward pre-
dicament ; but still it is  my duty to apply the critical knife
to the ugly excrescences which under the name of  " newly
discovered organs" he  has attempted to engraft upon the
beautiful tree of phrenology.
   Let it not be supposed that I am attempting to render the
gentleman's  scientific  pretensions more ridiculous  than  is
necessary to the deArelopment of truth—I hope that I am
incapable of such injustice—I will, therefore, quote his own
language, and  let my reader judge whether it is possible by
any comment of mine to make such ideas appear more con-
temptible.   He soys,—

  " No sooner had an application of Animal Magnetism been made
to Phrenology,  than I eagerly  embraced  it, not  only to test the
truth of magnetism in regard to the  organs that were fully estab-
lished, but also, when satisfied on this point, to see which of the
doubtful organs stood being tested by magnetism, as well as whether
neAV 'ones could be  discovered.   Accordingly, the Rev. La Roy
Sunderland, Dr.  Sherwood  and myself, instituted a series of Phre-
no-Magnetic experiments, a summary of that portion of the results
which relates to Phrenology is given.
  " Nothing has ever interested me more than these experiments,
and 1 felt that I could not put another edition of this Avork to press,
though it was stereotyped, without  giving at least a summary of
them.  I will just add, that I have  examined hundreds,  probably
thousands, of heads, since  these discoveries  were made, Avith the
A-iew of seeing whether examinations made by means of them, coin-
cided with the characters, and 1 find  they do without the least per-
ceptible variation.  These results, then, are :
  " 1. Each of the internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, stomach,
liver, &c. &c, has an organ in  the head, Avhich  is large, small,
healthy, or disordered, &c, according to the condition of the organ
               11* 
242
ETHEROPATHY.
in the body.  These organs are situated  behind the  ears.  Their
precise position, however, I have not so fully ascertained as is de-
sirable.
   « 2. All, or nearly all, the old organs, are found to be a group, or
family of organs ;  each analogous to the old one, but differing from
each  other in their shades of function.  Thus, Combativeness is
found to be divided into Physical Courage, Dissatisfaction and Re-
sistance,  or a contrary  spirit ;  Philoprogenitiveness, into Parental-
Love, Filial-Love, and Love of Pets ; and so of most of the other
organs.
   « 3. The location and function of all the old, or established organs
are fully confirmed, not a single variation of importance in either
having been observed.  This Avill certainly prove highly gratifying
to  every lover of Phrenology, and does immortal credit to the  mi-
nuteness and extent of the observations of its founders,  Gall and
Spurzheim.
   " 4. These experiments have revealed the cause and instruments,
as well  as  the ' modus operandi' of Physiognomy, and show  how
it is that the activity of each organ imparts its peculiar expression
to the face.  Men have long known that all the passions, such as
anger, love, cunning, pride, decision,  kindness, piety, fear, reflec-
tion, &c, Avere expressed in the countenance; but no one has ever
 discovered the rationale of this, or shown how it was done.  As all
 effects have their  legitimate causes, and also their means, through
 the instrumentality of which they are effected, these expressions
 must have both their causes and instruments of expression. These, we
 think, we have discovered.   It appears, that every  organ of the
 body and brain, has a certain magnetic connection with the face, or
 a place  there for its indication.   For the Avant of a better name, Ave
 will  call these places and connections,  the poles of the organs.
 Hence,  when the organ is affected, that portion of the face is drawn
 so as to cause the face to express  the feeling or  sentiment of the
 organ excited.  This  connection  existing betAveen the  organ and
 the pole, (for that is the term given to the termination of this con-
 nection, while the term conductor is applied to the channel by which
 this  influence passes from the organ to the face,) is the  same as
 that between the head and the hand, or any other part of the body, 
DISCOVERIES.
243
by Avhich the limbs, muscles, &c, involuntarily obey the command,
and  fulfil the desires of the  mind and will.  Thus, the  poles of
Self-Esteem are betAveen the  mouth and nose, about an inch and a
quarter apart,  and about an  inch  below the outer portion of the
nose.  Hence  its  action produces that curl of the upper lip which
expresses scorn, contempt, pride and self-sufficiency.
  " The poles of Firmness  are about half an  inch apart,  near the
edge of the  upper lip, and  in the hollow  between the nose and
mouth.  Hence, its action produces that compression of the upper
lip Avhich is said  to indicate decision  of character ;  and hence, en-
couraging another to be firm, is expressed by the saying, « Now
keep a stiff upper lip.'   The expression,' That  man carries a stiff
upper  lip,' is also in harmony with this supposed discovery.
  " The poles of the reasoning organs are just  below the edge of
the loAver lip,  and those of the  moral  organs, still farther down,
betAveen the loAver lip and chin.
  " This harmonizes perfectly  Avith  the physiognomy of all great
reasoners ; for, their under lip will be  found  to project and turn
under, as it were, towards the teeth.  Reasoners generally handle
their under  lip much, and Avhenever Ave think deeply, we naturally
bite, or finger, or draAv, or stick out the under  lip.  The coinci-
dence  between this discovery,  or rather, between  the position of
these poles and that part of the face by Avhich the functions of their
organs are  manifested,  is most happy and striking;  and it will
soon lead to a correct system of Physiognomy.
  " This brings us to the second point of  interest  connected with
this portion of our subject, namely, that the poles of the organs are
grouped in the face, much as the organs themselves are grouped in
the head; that is, the poles of  those organs that are most  likely to
aid and accompany one another, are located near each other.  Thus,
it is a leading principle in Phrenology, that the  moral  and reason-
ing faculties should co-operate in  directing and  governing the ac-
tions  of all the  other faculties, and in controlling nearly all the
doings of life ; and, in accordance with this principle, the poles  of
these organs are  near neighbors, just as are the organs themselves.
   « This same principle of polarity, applies equally to all the organs
of the body.  Thus, the poles of the heart are in the chin, by ex-
citing which the heart labors, and is raised to so violent a state  of
action as to prevent the circulation of the blood, and to all appear- 
244              ETHEROPATHY.
ance,  would cause death in a  few seconds.  The  poles  of the
lungs  are in each cheek—just where the hectic flush appears in
consumption.  Hence, the inflammation of the lungs  excites these
poles, producing that  rosy redness of the cheeks Avhich  indicates
and accompanies lung-fever.  In the name of philosophy, I ask, if
this coincidence, does not indicate truth, and is not in harmony with
nature ?   And, beyond a doubt, this discovery, if founded in truth,
will soon be employed in the cure of consumptive complaints, lung
fevers, asthma, &c.  The poles of the stomach are found to join
Alimentiveness on its  inner side.  This shows how  it is, that the
excitement of the stomach by hunger, disease, &c, excites Alimen-
tiveness, and through it  Combativeness, Dcstructiveness, &c. &c.
In other words, it shows why hunger produces  a  desire  to eat,
rather than to worship, or be kind—why the morbid  and inflamed
condition of the  stomach, brought on  by over-eating, (a disease
called dyspepsy, liver-complaint, &c.,) produces a craving, insa-
tiable appetite; the inflammation of the stomach being felt at the
poles  adjoining Alimentiveness,  and thereby exciting the organ
and creating a desire for food ; and also why and how hunger pro-
duces mixability, ill-temper, &c, rather than kindness, or penitence,
&c.;  these poles of the stomach being close by Combativeness and
Destructiveness, which partake  of the  excitement of the stomach
through these poles.  All the other organs of the body are found
to have their poles in the face, and in all probability, when dor-
mant  can be excited and cooled off when inflamed, merely by
magnetising their poles, or by putting them to sleep."

   In  my " New System of Phrenology," published  in 1839,
I introduced three new organs, viz. : Pneumativeness, Sana-
tiveness and Flavor or Chemicality.   These discoveries were
at that  time neglected, or unmercifully and contemptuously
scouted, by Combe, Fowler, Caldwell, Buchanan and  nearly
all the leading phrenologists ; but it seems that when they
found that  the  organs could  be made to " speak for them-
selves" by being excited by " touching," they spoke  in fa-
vor of those very organs which I had previously announced.
Buchanan and Sunderland found an organ of extreme  " phy-
sical  sensibility" exactly where I locate the organ of Sana- 
DISCOVERIES.
245
tiveness, which feels pain!  Fowler,  Buchanan  and Sun-
derland found the " pole of the lungs" precisely where I had
located  the  organ of Pneumativeness—the propensity to
breathe—which produces suffocation !  They also found the
organs of taste and smell near where I located the organ of
Flavor or Chemicality,  Avhich in my work I had defined to
be " the perception of those chemical qualities [of bodies
which affect the senses of taste and  smell!"   The  reader
may perhaps suppose  that these great discoverers, when
they found that they had previously done me injustice, Avere
prompt  in acknowledgements and loud in their proclama-
tions of  my priority and correctness :  my dear reader, let
me assure you that on  the contrary they have  forgotten, or
never knew, that such a work as that of mine was ever pub-
lished ;  and in this convenient state of forgetfulness they
have come  out and claimed the discovery of these same or-
gans, which several years before I had announced  in my
work, and which had been made a matter of  discussion in
Albany, New-York, London and  Paris—Avhich Caldwell
(Buchanan's preceptor) had criticised  in Fowler's Journal,
at Fowler's request.
   But it will be asked  how it came to pass that these gen-
tlemen by their experiments confirmed my observations, if
all their experiments are  based on moonshine.  How hap-
pened my  observations to harmonize Avith  their experi-
ments?   I  answer  by referring you  to the  explanations
which I have already made of  the principles of Sympathy,
Will, Clairvoyance  and Credencive induction.   The  opera-
tors, though unwilling to acknowledge it, were satisfied that
I was right in regard to the organs which  I had announced
in my work.   And, therefore,  when they tried  to excite
them upon  a very susceptible subject, (one who Avas pro-
bably Clairvoyant,) they succeeded of course, and then in-
stead  of acknowledging  their tardiness to  do me justice,
they claimed to have made the discovery themselves. 
246
ETHEROPATHY.
  But in reality the  experiments do not confirm these or-
gans ; their claim is based upon observation of external de-
velopment and Phrenological harmony.   The  experiments
Avould  have confirmed  any other organ, or any doctrine
however absurd or visionary, as  the  records  of their pre-
tended discoveries abundantly prove.
  In regard to the poles  of the stomach, and the magnetic
connection of AlimentiAreness with the  stomach, &c, of
which  FoAvler is so proud, I beg leave to refer you  to my
work on Phrenology, p. 162, in which in 1839 I announced
this same doctrine in my explanation of the internal senses.
The following is the  language I then used :—
  " These are the nerves that convey impressions from the
internal bodily organs,  to their appropriate propensities in
the  brain.   Thus  Pneumativeness,  AlimenUVeness  and
Sanativeness, of  the Ipseals; and Amativeness and Paren-
tiveness, of the Socials, are each capable of being excited
to the highest degree, AA'hen the bodily organs to which they
are severally related, are in want of their peculiar enjoy-
ments.  The secretion of milk in the breast, irritates certain
nerves which convey the impressions to Parentiveness and
rouse it to action.  The secretion of the gastric juice, irri-
tates certain nerves of  the stomach which convey impres-
sions to Alimentiveness; in the  same manner every organ
when irritated in  a peculiar manner,  communicates  an im-
pression to the brain by means of some nerve, and rouses
the  appropriate  propensity, to relieve disagreeable  sensa-
tions,  or to continue agreeable ones.  The  nerves of the
internal senses are so concealed from  observation, that the
most skillful  anatomist  cannot trace them with certainty;
this accounts for  the fact, that so very feAV, besides profes-
sional  men, are acquainted even with the existence of such
senses."
   If Mr. Fowler  had merely stated that he had repeated the
experiments of Sunderland and Buchanan, and had obtained 
DISCOVERIES.
247
the same results, he would have deserved no more censure
than the other endorsers of these monstrous absurdities ; but
when he declares that he has by the examination of crania
confirmed them, and thus  established their truth, he takes
upon himself a responsibility from which I fear that nothing
but charity can relieve him.
   I regret the necessity of these remarks, but I owe a duty
to the public which I am determined to discharge, and which
will not permit me  to  pass  in silence and indifference the
false lights which are calculated to lead them so far astray. 
SECTION  XIII.
                    NEUROLOGY.

   The notions of Dr. Buchanan have received the sanction
of Dr. Charles Caldwell of Kentucky, one of the most dis-
tinguished phrenologists in the world, and one who ought to
have been  the  first  to perceive and expose their fallacy.
He lends the influence of his venerable name to give popu-
larity to this new " Neurology"—a granite pillar to sustain
a bubble.   This is to me more  astonishing than any of the
new discoveries.   The following extracts  from a  letter of
Dr. Caldwell to the Editor of the Edinburgh Phrenological
Journal defines his position :

                         "Louisville, April 5, 1842.
  " My Dear Sir :—The paper from the pen of Dr. Buchan-
an, which this letter  accompanies, is transmitted to you in
the belief that it will so far experience from you a favor-
able reception, as to  be admitted to a place in the  Phreno-
logical Journal which you so ably conduct.
  " If I mistake not its character, the paper contains in itself
an amount  of curious, interesting  and important matter,
abundantly  sufficient to serve  as  its ready and  welcome
passport into any phrenological depository of the day.
  " In behalf of its solidity and merit, however, permit me to
observe, that I  have myself Avilnessed  experimental verifi-
cations of no inconsiderable number of the striking positions
and allegations which it contains.   I have also performed
in person a sufficient number of them to serve me as an
earnest of the truth of many others. 
NEUROLOGY.
249
  "This is  true, more especially, as  regards the Mesmeric
excitement of the separate organs of the brain, and the call-
ing forth, in an augmented degree, of their natural language
and action.
  " I apply to the excitement the term  " Mesmeric," be-
cause the  mode of its production is  analagous to, and its
ruling principle no doubt identical Avith those of the pro-
duction of common Mesmeric phenomena.  The following
experiments I have repeatedly performed, since my last re-
turn from  Europe, without encountering, a single failure.
  " Having  thrown my  subject into  a complete Mesmeric
condition, I  have so excited  the  organs of Combativeness
and  Destructiveness, even  in ladies of delicacy and refine-
ment, Avhose natural feelings toAvard myself were friendly
and kind, as to induce them to  give me blows, as severe as
they could inflict.   I have then excited their Benevolence,
willing  into  their  presence  some  object  of  distress,  and
drawn  from them  an  abundant  effusion of tears—their
Veneration,  and they  have  become  immediately  devout,
reverential and adoring—their Hope, and their  thoughts
have become buoyant, elastic and brilliant, and  all  their
anticipations a foretaste of felicity to  be afterwards enjoyed
by  them—their Cautiousness,  and they  have sunk  into
victims of apprehension and gloom—their Self-Esteem, and
so sAvollen was their pride,  that  they Avould  hardly  have
submitted to  the   companionship of an  Empress—their
Mirthfulness, and  their thoughts  were cheering,  sprightly
and  playful, and all their fancies bright and mirth-born—
their Number, and their instinct of Calculation would be-
come insatiable.   A lady, in that condition, counted several
generations  of  canary birds which she had reared, all the
buttons on my coat and Avaistcoat, and on being willed into
my drawing room, all the chairs, tables and pictures  con-
tained in the apartment.   I next excited her Order, whose
development was  large, and  in that  state, willing her into
my study, she gave me an earnest rebuke on account of the
disorder and confusion Avhich preArailed in it, and was  quite
exceptionable to her.
  " Thus have I, on several occasions, run through a majority
of the larger and  more powerful cerebral  organs, rousing
them to strong action  and  expression,  and  in this  way
settled, in my OAvn opinion  much more  definitely and in- 
250               NEUROLOGY.

dubitably, their positive  locality, than  can be effected by
any other mode of proceeding Avith which I am acquainted.
  J     *      #x*°*       *       *
  " Among the experiments of  Dr. Buchanan, Avhich I wit-
nessed, a very interesting and important one consisted  in his
augmentation or diminution at pleasure of muscular strength
in any given part of the body.   In the case of a youth, con-
valescent from severe disease, the Doctor, in the presence
of several persons, I being one of them, first augmented and
then diminished the strength of the arms, in a degree that
was obvious and even striking to the spectators.  I have
also been  a  witness, when he  has, by a  similar process,
changed very materially  the  condition  of  the   digestive
organs."
  It seems that Dr. Elliotson of London has admitted  the
truth of Dr. Buchanan's head-touching doctrines :  and so, in-
deed, have many other distinguished Phrenologists and Phy-
sicians of Great Britain.   The  reader  must  therefore  ac-
knowledge that however absurd and ridiculous may be the
doctrines which haA'e been advanced  by Dr.  Buchanan and
others of the same faith, the high character of the persons
who have  endorsed them give  them  a claim to  a serious
and formal notice and refutation.
  However much they may deserve ridicule, and however
naturally they may excite our  contempt, this  alone will
never dislodge them from the public mind as long as they are
defended  by  such  renoAvned and respectable champions.
The great majority, even of educated persons, do not take
the trouble to examine such matters for themselves.   They
presume that  those whose peculiar A'ocation it is, will exam-
ine  and report correctly upon any question Avhich especially
concerns their profession ; and if some  commit important er-
rors it is, expected that others  will oppose them, not with
ridicule and sarcasm merely, but also  with experiment fact
and argument.*

  * In England, the  credit of  having discovered the head-touchin*
princ lples, is supposed to belong not to Dr. Buchanan nor to  Mr°
Sunderland, but to Mr. Spencer T. Hall, an English gentleman 
NEUROLOOY.                251
  The discoveries of Dr. Buchanan and all  his pretensions
depend upon the proposition, that by touching a definite spot
on the head we can learn the function of that portion of the
brain which is immediately beneath the spot  touched.
  This is his " mode of operation" as it has  been " display-
ed publicly" both by himself and his disciples.  By this
simple process he claims to have made discoveries of such
magnitude and importance as to overshadow all the discov-
eries of all other men since the flood.  But  I shall be suspect-
ed of misrepresenting him ; let me therefore give his own
language extracted  from " Sketches of Buchanan's discov-
eries  in Neurology," published  by himself.  In the intro-
duction it is said that—" The folloAving sketches will,  it is
hoped, give a  just conception of its character and  import-
ance."
   He then proceeds to give an account which  of itself is
sufficient to show that he  is better fitted  by nature for a
poet than a philosopher, and calculated to excel in works
of fiction, rather than of fact and experiment.  Nothing can
exceed the extravagant and bombastic style  in which he an-
nounces his discoveries.   It reminds us of an oriental pro-
clamation,  in Avhich notice is given to the  whole world that
the Emperor is eating his dinner, and that Avhen he has fin-
ished, all the  other great ones of the earth  may eat theirs.
He very coolly takes his place at the head of the immortal
band of sages  and philosophers that the Avorld has produced,
and proclaims himself far in advance of them all.  At a  sin-
gle leap he reaches the very summit of the temple of fame,
claims a whole box to himself, and with  enviable self-com-
placency remarks that being "placed in so  authoritative posi-
tion awakens many peculiar emotions."
   It may seem cruel, but I am really under the disagreeable
necessity of informing the gentleman that he has " got into
the wrong box."  I expect that  he will object and refer me
to his committees' reports—to Dr. Caldwell, Dr. Elliotson, 
25t
NEUROLOGY.
Dr. Dodds, Dr. Forry, Rev. Mr. Pierpont, Mr. Bryant, Mr.
O'Sullivan and a host of other persons of equal  rank, Avho
have endorsed his ticket, and consented to allow him to take
some " shorter road to the arcana of cerebral physiology."
   But I would most respectfully inform all those gentlemen
that no man can be permitted  to occupy such " an authori-
tative position," who avoids, as Dr. Buchanan says he does
(to use his own words)  " the labor of theorizing observation,
induction and philosophical  combination."
   The book of Dr. Buchanan to which I have referred, con-
tains the following interesting  extracts, upon which I shall
take the liberty to make a few comments.

              Sketches of Buchanan's Discoveries.
   " For some months past I have been engaged, during the inter-
vals of professional engagements, in an experimental investigation
of the functions of the brain,  in which I have been so singularly
fortunate, that in the course of a single  month, I have been able
to ascertain more of its true physiology than has heretofore been
acquired by all the labors of all the Physiologists and Pathologists
Avho have ever been engaged in observing and making experiments
to ascertain the nature and locality of its various functions."

   This can only be met by a direct contradiction.
   I have been engaged for  many years in the investigation
of Phreno-physiology, with  a  view to improve and perfect
the science.   And I have thoroughly examined the preten-
sions of Dr. B.;  and I assure  the public  that  he  has not
added a single item to our knowledge.

   " While the ink is yet wet, Avith which I record this sentence, I
cannot repress the  feeling of strangeness with  Avhich I view so
comprehensive an assertion, when placedin  writing,  although I
know it to be but a naked statement of a portion of the facts,
which I have ascertained by the testimony of my own senses, and
which have been Avitnessed by many others.   These facts  and
the experiments in which I have been engaged, have lost a portion 
                     NEUROLOGY.                 253

of their novelty  and wonder with me by frequent repetition ; but
to suppose that results of such magnitude  have been  so  speedily
and correctly attained, and that the promulgation of such discover-
ies has devolved upon one Avhom neither years nor official honors
have placed in so authoritative a position, awakens many peculiar
emotions.
  " Fortunately, it requires neither rank nor title, nor persuasive
eloquence, to secure the reception of  these truths,  The experi-
ments by which they have been tested can  easily be repeated, and
cannot leave a doubt upon the mind of any, nor do they suggest
any thing for debate.  Their reception must be  instantaneous.
  " I am thus prepared to teach the true physiology of the brain ;
to correct the errors that have heretofore been  made,  and to give
the function  of its smallest organs with a precision which it would
once have been deemed  chimerical to expect.   Yet every propo-
sition which I advance shall be accompanied, on the spot, by ex-
perimental demonstration, as  palpable and satisfactory, even as
those of chemistry."

  I  assert,  on  the contrary,  without  hesitation, that the
falsity of every new proposition  which he has  advanced
can be shoAvn by similar experiments.

  " Yet how, asks the wondering and  incredulous metaphysician,
can this possibly be accomplished ?  Hoav can the sublime science
of mind be degraded, into a mere subject of physiological experi-
ment, and an hour's  observation  become the substitute for heavy
folios of reasoning ?
  " By the simplest means  imaginable.  It is in my power to ex-
cite, in a feAv moments, any portion of the brain, either large or
small; to  put that portion into  full and  vigorous action as  an
efficient portion of the character of the person upon Avhom I  oper-
ate, and then, at will, suspend its action, and excite the action of
its antagonist organ, or of any other  organ, or group of organs,
that I choose to bring into play."

  I deny that he can do this in any other way than that in
which it was done by  the  mesmerizers, " long time ago,"
and  had  he been  well  acquainted  Avith  mesmerism and 
254
NEUROLOGY.
Phrenology, as I have been in the habit of teaching them,
he would not have deceived  himself Avith these egotistical
delusions.

  " The  idea which led to these developments, though  long  im-
pressed upon my mind, like many other plans to which I hoped a
consummation, has but lately been carried into  effect  Three years
since I had made important progress in craniological science,  and
traced the outlines of ' the Pathognomic System of Phrenology;'
  " I had printed a prospectus and obtained subscribers to this work,
to be issued in five volumes, embracing the whole  of the sciences
of Phrenology  and  Pathognomy.  But discovering that, by the
plan I was  pursuing, a lifetime  would scarcely be  sufficient to re-
organize the science, and to test every proposition, I determined,
if possible, to find some shorter  road  to  the  arcana of Cerebral
Physiology.  The labor of theorizing, observation, induction  and
philosophical combination, might form a system, indeed, of toler-
able accuracy; but the lifetime expended in such labors, I foresaw,
would be poorly rewarded, as the moral and intellectual organs in
ninety-nine-hundreths of the human  race, are  too feeble to per-
ceive,  or to appreciate, the truth of any  new discovery,  The
principles thus discovered, Avould have to undergo  the tedious or-
deal of criticism and  experiment, by incompetent as well as com-
petent  men, before they could receive the proper credit,  1 could
not consent to spend a life in the labor of untying a Gordian knot
for the benefit of posterity, but determined  to find the sword with
which I could cleave it open at once, and bring the most recondite
truths palpably before the public eye.
  " In plainer terms, I determined to ascertain the functions of the
brain in some simple and direct manner, which would place  our
knowledge of its functions upon a par Avith the other portions of
experimental physiology.   To  do this, I determined to excite the
different portions  of the brain by a galvanic or galvanoid fluid,
and calling  them separately into action, to watch the  resultant
phenomena; or, by exciting them in myself, to enjoy at once, a
perfect consciousness of the nature of  each  faculty and its organ.
In this attempt, I have met with even a  more glorious success
than I had  ever anticipated. 
NEUROLOGY.
255
  " I have discovered the means of exciting, at will, any portion
of the  brain—any organ, or any number of organs, and of retard-
ing or suspending their action.  Even the small perceptive con-
volutions, on the super-orbitar plate, have proved to be completely
under  my control; and  I have many times excited the organ of
Form or Calculation, Color or Order, without allowing the excite-
ment to  extend beyond the  organ which I wished to  call into
play.  In the most susceptible subjects, I find that I have been
able to assume the entire control of their characters, and operate
upon their minds  or bodies in the  most fantastic manner that
caprice could suggest.
   " I say nothing of my mode of operation at present, as that will
be displayed hereafter publicly—and the experiments, unless con-
ducted by persons who are Avell acquainted with Neurology, may
be managed so as to  injure, instead of benefiting, the health."

   By publishing to the world that he could excite  the sep-
arate portions  of the brain, and inducing gentlemen of  re-
spectability to endorse the statement, while he " said  noth-
ing of his mode of operation," many who had not seen his
experiments, were led to believe that he had actually  made
a new and important discovery. I confess this was my own
case ; I wrote a letter to  Dr. Caldwell, to make  inquiries
concerning the reality of the discovery, and received a very
kind  reply, in Avhich  I was  assured that " some important
 discoveries in Neurology" had actually been made, and that
 the great discoverer Avould  soon  honor  our region with
 a visit, when  we  should have an opportunity to judge for
 ourselves.   In the mean  time, Mr. Sunderland, a Metho-
 dist clergyman of N. Y. City, claimed to have made essen-
 tially the  same discovery:  that is, he claimed to have dis-
 covered the means of exciting the mental organs by touch-
 ing the head with his finger.  But as Dr. B. said nothing
 of his mode of operation, it  was supposed that there was
 something peculiar in his method to distinguish it from the
 method of Mr. Sunderland.   When Dr. B. arrived in  N. Y.
 he " displayed publicly" his mode of operation, and it was 
256               NEUROLOGY.

found to be essentially the same as that of Mr. Sunderland.
His mode of operation  was to take a person who was sus-
ceptible of mesmeric or Etheropathic induction and having
first ascertained his susceptibility, he put the extremity of
one finger upon his temple and held  it  there until the sub-
ject Avas asleep—this part of  the head Avas therefore called
the organ  of Somnolence.  By touching in a similar manner
another part of the head he waked the subject up. He then
proceeded Avith his other experiments in  the same manner.
By touching behind the ear  he  excited  (so be pretended)
the organ  of Felony; a little higher, the organ of Profanity ;
still higher the organ of Acquisithreness ;  higher yet the or-
gan of Sleep; above and behind the organ  of Sleep (near Ad-
hesiveness) he "touched off" the  organ of Ignorance, the
organ of Stupidity and the organ of Imbecility. Sometimes he
excited them by Sympathy, that is, if instead of the Dr. touch-
ing the head of the subject, the subject touched the head of
the Dr. the same effects were produced;  for instance, if the
subject touched the organ of Ignorance on  the Dr's head, the
subject was instantly inspired with  " a fellow feeling," and
became ignorant,  stupid, Sec. I first saw the experiments
repeated at Albany, by a most enthusiastic friend of Dr. B.—
a gentleman who is immeasurably superior to him in saga-
city; and upon a subject, a Lady of good character and family,
of exceeding susceptibility, and  of  uncommon natural  and
acquired endowments.  Every experiment  succeeded ad-
mirably.  The organs Avere  excited and  the new discove-
ries demonstrated  and  illustrated in such a manner as to
convince all—but myself—that the organs of Insanity, Idio-
cy, Dreaming, Immortality, Childishness, Felony and numer-
ous other  " airy nothings," have " a local habitation and a
name."  I said but little in opposition at the time, except
to a few confidential friends,  and from them I received no
sympathy.   From my acquaintance with  phrenology,  I
knew that they were wrong in respect to  the pretended new 
NEUROLOGY.
257
organs, but I was not satisfied that the  Avhole  was a delu-
sion until I had myself repeated the experiments, and had
discovered the  source of error in the nature of  Credencive-
ness,  Will and  Clairvoyance, Avhich Buchanan, Sunderland,
Caldwell, Elliotson and others had  overlooked.  I at length
found that no reliance Avhatever, could be placed upon the
experiments made by touching the head—that  in fact the
touching  had nothing to do Avith  the effect produced, and
consequently nothing can  be  learned concerning the function
of the part touched, by these experiments.  If any thing can
be learned, it must be  by Clairvoyance,  and even this  is
more uncertain than a lottery.   Again he says,—

  " The question then naturally arises,  since the functions of every
organ have  been ascertained  Avith this precision, and Cerebral
Physiology has become on  a sudden a science of  demonstrable
accuracy, Avhether the existing  science  of Phrenology is overturn-
ed or  established  by the new  discoveries.   The experienced and
philosophic practical Phrenologist will easily anticipate the ans-
wer.  Knowing  the  unimpeachable ttruth  of  the body of the
science ; he  knows  too, that it is still  an inaccurate  or imperfect
doctrine, Avhen Ave survey the  mass of its details.  He finds him-
self occasionally  liable to practical errors, for Avhich he is  at a loss
to account, and of Avhich  he can dispose only, by using the old
phrase, so often  sophistically applied,  ' exceptio probat regulum.'
  " As a practical Phrenologist, having Avandered farther from the
doctrines of Gall  and  Spurzheim than any other zealous cultivator
of craniology, I had  to some extent abandoned the use of the es-
tablished phrenological nomenclature. Believing that  the doctrines
of Phrenology would be for some  time a matter of debate, and
deeming it rather premature to determine the  precise functions of
organs by their  names, I used  and even taught my students the
anatomical nomenclature, deeming it  more convenient that the
name  should express  the fixed  anatomical  position of  the organ,
than that it should  express the unfixed and not very precise doc-
trine of their functions.   Seeking the truth boldly, regardless of all
systems, 1 had become distrustful of the established doctrine, and
Avhile engaged in making additions to it, Avas by no  means back-
                12 
258
NEUROLOGY.
 Avard in rejecting every thing which did not stand the test of sound
 reasoning or of craniological observation.
   " When I found the means of testing all the principles of Phre-
 nology, by inspiring  the organs  to  speak for  themselves, I was of
 course eager to learn Avhat was  their decision upon the doctrines
 of Gall and Spurzheim, and Avhat Avas to be the fate  of my own
 craniological  doctrines.
   " The result has been  singularly happy :  while the truth of my
 own views in  every  essential point has been well maintained, it
 has been done af as little expense as possible to the existing system.
 In some instances in  which my doctrine departed materially from
 the doctrine of Gall  and Spurzheim, decisive experiments  have
 presented a compromise, sustaining as far as practicable the  truth
 of both;  shoAving that the principles of each, though apparently
 contradictory, were really just and harmonious, but limited views
 of the same subject, which a more extensive survey combines into
 one picture."

   We here  get the key to many of the pretended discov-
 eries of Dr. Buchanan.  It seems that he had been for some
 time dreaming and  scheming upon a new system of notions,
 and being naturally of a romantic and visionary turn of mind
 he  had formed some highly erroneous conceptions of phre-
 nology and physiology ;  consequently when he  made  (as
 he  supposed) the organs_ speak for themselves, he made them
 speak his OAvn doctrines, their language was but  an echo of
 his thoughts, and their testimony was of course  in  favor of
 his " own craniological  doctrines ;" like  another innocent
 youth whom we read of in ancient classic story, he fell des-
 perately in love with his OAvn shadow.   He  says,—

  " I have been in the habit of teaching the phrenological doctrine,
 that every portion of  the brain sustained a particular relation to
 the body, by means of Avhich the circulation and all the phenom-
 ena of  life are  modified through the cerebral agency; that the
 paramount  influence of the brain gave  to  the body its peculiar
growth, form  and temperament;  that every portion of the body
 had a specific  relation to some part of the brain, upon Avhich it 
NEUROLOGY.             -   259
was dependent for innervation, and Avith Avhich it sympathized in
health, disease  and excitement.  I had  made some progress in
tracing out the laws of this innervation, and establishing the rela-
tion that existed between each portion of the body and each portion
of the brain—thus ascertaining to what classes of disease partic-
ular forms of the brain made us liable, or with Avhat portion of
the brain and what kind of cerebral excitement each disease was
connected—in other words, making a phrenological classification
of disease, and  of all the phenomena of life.
  " Having done this, it became my duty when I found the brain
under my control, to proceed directly to testing its influences upon
the body, and its power of modifying the phenomena of disease,
in a  curative or an injurious manner.  In this, my expectations
have been fully and exactly realized.
  " I have found it perfectly practicable to operate upon the various
portions of the body, and stimulate or  modify their functions by
the appropriate action upon the cerebral sources of their inner-
vation."

  It can easily be demonstrated, and often has been, that
the circulation and the motions of the heart are independent
of the brain, [See Le Galois on Life, with Cmder's  report,]
for the herd can be cut off and thrown away, and  yet the
heart can beat and  the blood circulate for an hour.   But
Dr. B. did not knoAv this ;  for it seems that he had acquired
the belief that the heart is dependent upon the brain for its
growth and  innervation.   He was not aware that deformed
o
creatures have been born with perfect bodies  yet destitute
of brain : or if he had heard of these things he disregarded
them and formed these unfounded opinions.   Under these
circumstances  he touched the heads  of  his  subjects  and
inquired, like  Macbeth among the  Avitches,  or a  devotee
at the Delphian shrine, Avhat Avas to be the fate of his favo-
rite doctrines ; and when echo returned  him his own  views
in reply, he remarks with delightful self-complacency—" In
this my expectations have been fully and exactly realized."
The key to  bis error is found  in  the fact that the same ef- 
260
NEUROLOGY.
fects may be produced by touching different parts or by not
touching at all.  He continues,—

  " 1  Avould  offer  a word in  reference to the Avonderful ' art,
science, or  imposture,' which has made so much noise, and ex-
cited so much credulity, opposition,  debate  and criticism,  under
the title of Animal Magnetism.
  " I  have proven by experiment, that most  of the phenomena
Avhich have been reported by the magnetists, are real occurrences,
and by no means incompatible Avith the known laAvs of Physiology,
although they  derive their  explanation from principles  which
Physiologists have not yet knoAvn, and which the magnetists do
not appear to have properly sought.   Animal Magnetism has been
too much of a display of Avonderful results, and there has not been
a sufficient and efficient investigation  of the laAvs, by Avhich those
results have  been  produced. To such an  investigation,  I have
directed my efforts, guided by an improved system of  Cerebral
Physiology, and I have  found no very formidable difficulty.   By
means of the Pathognomic laws and Phrenological principles, Avhich
I have established, I flatter myself that the sunlight of science will
soon rest upon this mysterious terra incognita, in Avhich the usual
laws  of Physiology  and Psychology, seem at present  mingled,
confounded and lost."

   Among all those who have made a " display of wronderful
results," no one has equaled  this very person who is thus
rebuking the  magnetists, and surely no one  has done as
much as he to produce confusion, to shut  out  the sunlight
of science from this mysterious incognita, and to mislead the
sincere inquirer.   He proceeds,—

   " The term  ' Neurology,' by signifying the science  of  the
nervous system, is  competent to embrace all its functions, as well
the mental as the corporeal, and is  therefore  the proper term for
that  comprehensive  science,  of which Craniology, Phrenology
and Physiology, are constituent portions."

   " Neurology" is a term sufficiently comprehensive to in-
clude all the phenomena of the nervous  system, and for this 
NEUROLOGY.
261
purpose  has been long used, but it cannot be made to em-
brace all the phenomena of mesmerism or Etheropathy, for
the motion of Etherium exists independently of the nervous
system.   It is related to every thing,—light, heat, oxygen,
food, blood,'&c.   It produces effects upon  the nerves, and
is  conducted  by them, but it often  is transmitted Avithout
the aid of nerves; by will, for instance, it  passes from one
end  of a room to another Avithout being dependent  upon
nerves for its transmission  through the  space which inter-
venes between the operator and  the subject.  I consider
nerves merely conductors of etherean motions.  Again,—
  " At first, gentlemen who may engage in illustrating Neurology,
will be disappointed in  some of their experiments, because  of the
inaccuracy of  the existing  science  of  Phrenology   One-third
of the organs are inaccurately located ; and a large number (about
two-thirds of my catalogue)  are not knoAvn or  described in any
treatise on the science.
  " After the publication of my  System of Neurology, and  the
illustrative bust, experiments may be made Avith perfect certainty
as to the results.
  " There will be  failures, also, for another reason : most of  the
functions displayed by the excitement of the different organs are
compound.   The ^.operations  will therefore sometimes display a
compound function, and sometimes a simple function.  The results
Avill thus become contradictory, until the operators understand the
laws of antagonism and co-operation, which are  almost entirely
unknoAvn to Phrenologists at present,"
   I have  already spoken of the new organs  mentioned in
my work, and which  Dr. B. re-discovered, and in another
place I shall  speak of  his " laAvs of antagonism  and  co-
operation."   He says—
  " When discoveries of such magnitude came into my possession,
I felt eager to establish  them immediately, by crossing the Atlan-
tic and making them known in London and Paris.  The propriety.
hoAvever, of  perfecting  my discoveries, as far as possible, has in-
duced me to remain thus long quietly engaged in their prosecution,
and in preparing for the press an exposition of what I have done." 
262
NEUROLOGY.
  " 1 Avould remark, that I have not  been engaged in making ex-
periments upon subjects in a magnetic or somnolent condition, but
solely upon persons in their natural condition."

  Here is another most egregious, mistake.   Dr. Buchanan
labors under the delusion  that his subjects are in  the natural
or normal condition.   I hope I have sufficiently explained
this matter in another place.   Because the subjects are not
and never have been put to sleep  by the inductive process,
he thinks that they are in " their  natural condition."  He
might as well say that the inmates of bedlam are in  their
natural  condition, because they are not asleep.   One  of the
best subjects which he  had when  in this vicinity, and who
is particularly referred to in one of his  most laudatory re-
ports, is my intimate friend, a gentleman of veracity and
talent.   I  had operated upon him repeatedly before Dr. B.
saw him, and I know that when in his natural condition he
is a prudent and intellectual man, but when inducted  he be-
comes deranged in his functions in proportion to the degree
of induction. Now I can take this subject and operate upon
him in such a way as to  contradict all the doctrines of
Buchanan, and I pledge  myself to  do so on  any proper
occasion.  I can find a hundred  subjects who  seem  to be
perfectly rational—who are awake and  converse and act as
usual, but if I take a handkerchief, and assert  that  it is a
snake, they wilfall believe it, and make oath of  its  truth.
Now will Dr. B. say that these subjects are in their natural
condition ?   Again,—

  " Disregarding  the very meaning  of the word Neurology, and
probably unacquainted with its derivation, ignorant scoffers would
repeat that this  science was nothing more  than  the old story of
Animal  Magnetism, Clairvoyance, &c.;  others Avould assert that
it was totally unlike—both  confounding the science of Neurology
with the experiments by which it was demonstrated.   Some, by a
singular combination of skepticism and credulity, were even led to
adopt the laughable theory, that I produced the wonderful results 
NEUROLOGY.               263
of my experiments by the mere power of my will, controlling every
one whom I approached !  and compelling them to  feel such emo-
tions as I willed them to experience !  !"

  He seems particularly sensitive on this subject, and takes
a great deal of pains  to prevent us from thinking that his
"Neurology"  is  the  same  thing as  "the  old  story of
Animal Magnetism, Clairvoyance, &c."  He has so indus-
triously circulated the assertion that Neurology is something
different from Animal  Magnetism, that people  generally
suppose  it  to be true.   Noav the fact  really is that what
Buchanan calls  Neurology is the illegitimate offspring of
this same Animal Magnetism AArhich it  " repudiates."  It
Avas begotten by the union of Animal Magnetism with cre-
dulity ; and though at present it pretends to be ashamed of
its  father,  there  is much more reason for  Magnetism to
blush at the deformity and the indiscretion of its ill begotten
bantling.   These remarks will apply with equal  truth to
Sunderland's " Pathetism," and Braid's " Hypnotism"—and
I will  venture to predict that  they will all three be left to
suffer a miserable death, from the neglect of the respectable
dupes who  have hitherto  officiated as their  god-parents.
He says,—
  " Such notions being afloat, I have been  compelled to express
myself frequently, in public and in private, in something  like the
following manner:
  " Neurology is a comprehensive  science, including all the phe-
nomena of mind and body.  The Animal Magnetists, are engaged
in  cultivating one  department  of this science, which  is  rich in
Avonders.   Their results, although  they  seem   incredible, are
established by unanswerable  testimony; and, therefore, must be
received.  The experiments which I  am performing, are different,
as they are  simply designed to illustrate the ordinary or normal
functions, and the pathology of the human mind and body.  My
operations aim at utility, by explaining the machinery of life, and
the powers of each organ: those of Animal Magnetism, develop
extraordinary or transcendental phenomena, by the joint influence 
264
NEUROLOGY.
of two or more individuals.   The phenomena thus developed are
mysterious and Avonderful; and, indeed, Ave  seem in a fair way to
realize through these operations, that  ' truth is strange—stranger
than fiction.' "
  The utter inconsistency of these  remarks may be  inferred
from the fact that he claims as  " ordinary or normal func-
tions,"  such manifestations  as  "insanity,"  "stupidity,"
"imbecility," "baseness," "felony," &c.   (See his cata-
logue of newly discovered organs.)
  The folloAving extract from the same book was originally
published by one of Dr. B.'s pupils and shows hoAV  they
understood the matter :—

  " Some of our brother editors, as Avell as many Avith whom we
have conversed, even here, do not seem to  know what Neurology
is.   No longer since than "Wednesday evening, a medical stndent
informed us that he had all along regarded it as none other than
the veritable science of Mesmerism, or Animal  Magnetism ; and
Avas quite astonished on learning that Neurology Avas merely the
Physiology of the Nervous System ; and that the singular experi-
ments in Avhich Dr. B. has been engaged, are designed to  shoAV the
functions of every part of the nervous mass contained in the head,
by exciting that  part, by external  irritation, in such a manner, as
to  cause a distinct manifestation of its peculiar  properties, whether
 mental or corporeal.
   " Those who recognize Phrenology as a true science;  (and Avho
 does not ?) Avho understand  the mysterious operation of  the mind,
 upon the Avhole  nervous system, through the medium of  its organ,
 or  mass of  organs, the brain ; and Avho are aAvare how readily the
 different organs  of the brain can be recognized, classified, and their
 volume defined by exterior examination, can, Avith  readiness, com-
 prehend the whole secret of Dr. Buchanan's operations ; which
 consists merely,  in exciting any organ, or combination of organs,
 to  greater activity, by operating Avith  the fingers, upon that por-
 tion of the skull under which they are located.  Hunger, thirst,
 anger, benevolence, vision,  muscular  strength, hearing, &c, may
 be readily excited  in this Avay.  Mesmerism,  with its mysterious
 manipulations, its  passes, its clairvoyant conditions, its magnetic 
                      NEUROLOGY.                265

 states and transmissions of  mental power and ubiquity, all opern-
 ting independent of contact, no more resemble the science of Neu-
 rology, as defined and exemplified by Dr. B., than the practice cf
 the faith eloctors does the regular practice of medicine.
   " When our neighbors come to give the matter a < sober second
 thought,' and Avitness a tithe of the experiments which Dr. B. has
 made  in Louisville,  in  the presence of hundreds, and upon all
 classes of subjects, we  shall expect  to  find them more Avarm in
 their commendations than  we  have been.  We are a skeptical
 people  in Louisville, in matters of this kind, and yield to nothing
 which  is not sustained by unquestionable philosophical demon-
 strations, heard and seen by  ourselves."
   " The essence of my discoveries consists in determining the seat
 of all the functions of the nervous system, Avhether they relate to
 mind or body.  For instance, I determine Avith equal  certainty the
 sources of the passion of anger ; the sentiment of benevolence ;
 the faculty of vision ; the poAver of  secreting  bile ; the poAver of
 secreting the gastric juice ; or the power of using  the muscles in
 locomotion.
   " Every passion or emotion  that man can feel; every intellect-
 ual faculty that  he can exercise, and every function  that is per-
 formed  in any part of his body,  has a legitimate origin in some
 portion  of his nervous system.   The result of my investigations
 shows that all of these localities can'be ascertained ; and such has
 been my progress, that but few important  principles have been left
 for future discovery."
   How very grateful ought we to be to Dr. Buchanan for
 discovering  everything in physiology, and leaving nothing
 more for us common mortals  to  do but to  feast upon the
 fruits of his labors !   What if he should  take  it into his head
 to turn his mind to other departments of science, with a de-
 termination " not to spend a life in the labor of untying a
 Gordian Knot for the  benefit  of posterity, but to find the
sword with which to cleave  it open at once and bring the
most  recondite truths  palpably  before the public  eye !"
There Avould be an end to the race of philosophers, for their
" occupation would be  gone."  He proceeds,—
               12* 
266
NEUROLOGY.
  " Since this publication, my experience has daily given me new
facts and principles.  To  avoid all further detail, I Avould simply
remark, that I have found  the  key to the whole  mechanism of
man; and that I will  undertake, under proper circumstances, to
execute any command that  you may see fit to lay upon me, for
the purpose of modifying the  state of either mind or body ; pro-
ving that we may lay bare the  deepest mysteries of Nature, and
that we are noAv in the possession of knowledge which must be
of invaluable utility to the human race."

   And " I will undertake, under proper circumstances, to
execute" everything which Buchanan does without contact
or touching the head at all, and Avithout touching the body
at all;  and I will undertake  to show that all these things,
or others like them, were knoAvn and practiced by mesmer-
izers and magnetisers before Buchanan or Sunderland were
heard of.   Again,—
  " The number of independent functions, which may thus be de-
monstrated by experiment. Avith an adequately  susceptible person,
amounts to 166 ; but, for convenience of instruction, I demonstrate
usually not more than one  hundred.  With a subject of large
brain, well  cultivated mind,  and high susceptibility.  I  have  no
doubt that even as many as two hundred might be shown."

   This was written April  5, 1842.   I have before  me  a
" Diagram" published by Dr. Buchanan in 1843, in the ex-
planation of which he says,—

  " Any one who has the  ambition of discovery, can easily, by
experimenting on an impressible constitution, discover hundreds of
new organs or modes of manifestation by making additional subdi-
visions. Had the author published all the distinct functions which
he has observed, they Avould have amounted to more than a thou-
sand !"
   I doubt whether any man can be found who has sufficient
genius to write a sentence which shall surpass the above  in
foolishness.  If there is any thing on earth more supremely
ridiculous, it is the position of those who have recommend-
ed such doctrines to the public. 
NEUROLOGY.               267
  Yet there is truth in Dr. Buchanan's  promise, that " any
one can, by experimenting on an  impressible constitution,
discover hundreds of new organs ;" and I " will undertake
to execute" an order for any number or any kind  of new
organs which shall be wanted for the  gratification of the
public credulity.   If any one else will " undertake" to fur-
nish names, I will manufacture the organs according  to " the
laws of antagonism and co-operation" which  are practiced
by Dr. Buchanan and Dr. Caldwell.   Again,—

  " Every function, or organ,  is associated for its balance and
control with an antagonist function or organ ; and by means of
these laAvs of antagonism, the  whole mass of Cerebral Physiology
assumes a wonderful and beautiful  simplicity,"

  This doctrine of " antagonism" is taught by others besides
Dr. Buchanan.  It is taught by all those who excite (as
they suppose) the  organs by touching  the head.   In the
preface of my " NeAV System of Phrenology," I remarked
that " I cannot countenance the  idea that some organs were
intended as antagonists to others ; they all act in harmony ;
and  though some are more intimately related than others,
no one, unless abused, counteracts the proper  effects of an-
other."  An anonymous Avriter  in the " American Phreno-
logical Journal" (the proprietor  of the  Journal says that it
is Dr. Caldwell) devotes thirteen pages to criticise my book,
and begins by attacking the remarks in my preface concern-
ing antagonism.   In this criticism Dr.  Caldwell  takes the
ground distinctly, that some of the organs of mind were be-
stowed for  the very purpose of opposing others.  I have
not  the article now before me, but I  recollect that he re-
bukes me severely for holding a different opinion.   Dr.
Buchanan, it must be remembered, was once a pupil of Dr.
Caldwell, and very naturally imbibed his opinions  on this
subject as well  as  others.    Accordingly when Buchanan
made " his organs speak for themselves," they spoke in fa- 
268
NEUROLOGY.
vor of antagonist organs in a manner which must have as-
tonished a sensible  man like  Dr. Caldwell.    Is  it  not
Avonderful that his  suspicions were not excited when such
neAv antagonist organs were introduced as " Felony, Base-
ness, Desperation, Idiocy and Coarseness ?"
  The true doctrine upon this subject,  I  conceive is, that
any organ is an antagonist to every other which opposes its
operation and gratification—two organs may be antagonists
on  one occasion and  co-operators upon  another ; but I re-
peat what I stated in the preface of  my " NeAV System of
Phrenology," " No organ Avas intended to counteract the pro-
per effects of another." Conscientiousness, for instance, may
co-operate with Kindness to oppose Destructiveness, Avhere
its aim is unjust; but the same  Conscientiousness may co-
operate Avith Destructiveness to oppose Kindness, when jus-
tice demands the sacrifice.   When two  organs tend to op-
posite results, and the stimulating circumstances are equal,
the largest organ Avill prevail.   If the  organs are equally
large and the stimulus of each equal, the result will  be an
intermediate course in Avhich both powers  will be gratified
in a medium degree only ;  but if the  size or the stimulus of
one surpasses that of the other, the gratification will equally
surpass if opportunity is  equally favorable  to both.  There
is then no such thing as  an organ for an antagonist function,
per se.  By adopting a different doctrine, Dr. Buchanan has
involved himself in a labyrinth from  which nothing but re-
traction can extricate him.   Some of  the new organs which
he  proposes,  are doubtless intended  to supply the demand
for antagonist organs.  Thus the organ of  Suicide is intro-
duced to antagonize the organ of Vitality—Ignorance versus
Knowledge—Mortality  versus  Immortality—Sanity  versus
Insanity, and so on to the end of the chapter.

   Extract from Dr. Buchanan's  explanation of his Diagram.
  " Dormant Region.—This  is the region productive of  trance, 
NEUROLOGY.
269
and efforts of the mind to knoAv external phenomena intuitively.
These efforts have been called clairvoyance, prevision and presenti-
ment.  The tendency to such phenomena depends upon those or-
gans which lie in the order above-named, extending from the sense
of heights, upAvards  upon the internal aspect of  the  front lobe.
These organs are called dormant, because they are in a dormant or
inactive state in most persons."

   Buchanan's idea is, that Clairvoyance depends  upon cer-
tain organs situated between the upper part of the nose and
the top of the forehead.  There is not the least foundation
to this assertion beyond the prolific fancy of Dr. B.   If this
is really true and Dr. B. can excite, as he says he can, any
organ he pleases, he can of course excite  these  organs and
produce  Clairvoyance  at any time in any susceptible  sub-
ject ; but he cannot do  this, and he knows it;  Avhat then be-
comes of his boast about " exciting any organ,"  &c.
   The following is a part of the " Catalogue of Organs" as
 published  by Buchanan with  his  " Diagram" which is in-
 tended to show their location :—

   « Disease—Relaxation—Indolence—Sullenness — Insanity—Id-
 iocy—Childishness—Rashness—Carelessness—Restlessness—De-
 structiveness-Turbulence-Amativeness-Buflbonery-Animahty
 -Ardor, or Calorification-Conductor Organs; Intellectual-Moral
 —Selfish.                                  _,.  ,       .  ,
   »Jo-nor^Ce.-Stupidity-Imbecility-Sleep-Blmdness-Awk-
 wardness-Adhesiveness,&c.&c.  Not  having determined upon
 the nomenclature, the other names of  this region are for the present

 ^ Hardihood, or Insensibility-Temperance-Skepticism-Coarse-
 ness-ViKilance-Combativeuess-Moroseuess-Perverseuess-
 Rudeness-Hostility-Ceusoriousness-Steruness-Secretiveness-
 Reserve-Deceit-Suspicion-Selfishuess--Acquisitivenes^.-Econ-
 omy-Tradmg-Avarice-Profanity-Irntability--Gambhng-^
 ony-Desperation-Vitality-Baseness-Suicide-Hatred-Cruelty
 -Misanthropy-Ambition ;  Moral-Criminal. 
270               NEUROLOGY.

  It should be  particularly remarked  that no two of the
professional Head Touchers agree.  Sunderland and Fowler
locate  Secretiveness  and Acquisitiveness  in the  temple
were Spurzheim does, but Buchanan and others place them
in the occiput, near Combativeness ; and each rival " touch-
er" accuses the other of having the organs of " Ignorance
and Stupidity" in a state of too great activity for  the " an-
tagonist organs." 
SECTION  XIV.
   PHRENO-MAGNETISM,  PATHETISM AND
                     HYPNOTISM.

   The Rev. La Roy Sunderland, in the first number of the
Magnet, published June, 1842, claims to have been the first
person to make use of " Living Magnetism" to discover the
functions of the brain.   I beg leave to refer to  my experi-
ments with Mr. Hogoboom, of Nassau, as a refutation of
this claim.   I have never heard of any attempts having been
made to  discover the functions of the brain by animal mag-
netism, previous to the  experiments which I made in Buffalo
by means of Clairvoyance, in 1838.
   The following from  Sunderland's Magnet, vol. 1, No. 1,
is in itself a literary and scientific curiosity, and it will serve
to show  the extent to which the head-touching mania was
carried, and the confidence  with which the resulting the-
ories were proclaimed :—
  " The editor of this work believes himself to-have been the first
in this, or any other country, to use Living Magnetism as a means
for  Physiological and  Phrenological   discoveries.—And,  though
almost any other person might  have  found out the same results
had he made use of the appropriate means, yet many will doubt-
less turn  up  the lip at  our statements, who, themselves, would
have considered it an immortal honor to have enjoyed the facilities
which have so richly crowned our humble inquiries after truth.
  "Polarity of the Mental and Physical Organs.—The brain
has five large poles,  corresponding with  five others in the heart.
And, with these large poles, there are consecutive poles through- 
272
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
 out the entire system, connected Avith every mental and vital organ,
 and Avith every muscle and portion of the body which is concerned
 in the production of voluntary and involuntary motion.
   " All the organs and muscles  of the system are connected with
 the magnetic forces from the brain, so that Avhile the heart is the
 great fountain of vitality to the system, the brain is  the organ oi
 thought for the mind.  And each vital  and mental  organ has its
 corresponding pole, positive  and negative, and these sympathetic
points from the different organs are all located in the face and neck,
 so that by  operating either on these sympathetic points in the face,
 or the poles of the organs in the brain, I can excite any mental or
 physical action, and remove it, at pleasure, as the condition of the
 patient may require.
   " For instance, by operating on one portion of the brain, I pro-
 duce, in the mind of the patient, the feeling of Self-Esteem; by op-
 erating on  another portion, I produce the feeling of Gratitude; on
 another, the feeling of Joy ; on another, the feeling of Filial Love;
 and so of every emotion or sensation  which is peculiar to the hu-
 man mind.   And thus, also, of the physical organs.   The sympa-
 thetic  points, corresponding with the lungs, are located in the face,
 where you will see the hectic flush, in cases of  pulmonary con-
 sumption.  The points (or poles, it may Be,) of the organs of smell,
are located at the lower  part,  each side, of the nose, and by ope-
rating here, I excite the corresponding organ of Smell.  The sym-
pathetic points of Mirthfulness are located  in the corners of  the
mouth, and when I operate on these points, they are  drawn up in
the act of laughing.
  " This discovery gives the only true foundation for Physiognomy
and Pathog7wmy.  It shows how it is that the  mind excites the
organs, and, also, how it is that the mental faculties excite one an-
other, and when  they are in exercise, it shows how it is that they
produce the appropriate expression in the eyes, and features of the
face.  Think of it,  reader! And then say  what could be more  in-
teresting than a knowledge of these laws, which, as it would seem,
have remained hidden for six thousand years, by which the mind
looks  out in the face, and express its emotions through the organs
of clay !
  " This discovery enables us to tell you how it is that  the feel- 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          273
ings of the mind are conveyed in the tones of the voice ; and by
what process the health is affected by the exercise of the intellect;
— in a word, it gives the only true and satisfactory account of the
manner by which mind and matter  afe connected, and reciprocally
act upon each other.  And thus I  am able,  by  operating  on the
poles  of the organs, to cause the patient to feel the strongest emo-
tions of Hope, Fear, Courage, Mirthfulness, or in fact, any feeling
appropriate to the human mind.
   " I have, times without number,  produced Sleep, Somnambulism,
Monomania, Insanity, or Madness, and removed the excitement  at
pleasure.  By operating upon the  sympathetic points in the face,
I have produced, or suppressed action in the heart, lungs, liver,
spleen,   kidneys, stomach, larynx, &c, or any muscle or limb
in the   system;  and by the same  means, I have  found the
 nerves of sensation throughout the system may be excited or par-
 alyzed, and to a degree truly astonishing to such as have never
 seen these most interesting phenomena.
   " I have often removed, in  a short time,  great nervous  excite-
 ment, and by the  same  means relieved persons who have suffered
 for years from troublesome dreams and a Avant of refreshing sleep.

    « Groups and Pairs of  Organs.—Another  most  interesting
 discovery I have made, is, that the Phrenological organs not only
 exist in groups, corresponding with the  nature of their functions,
 but most, if not all of them, in double pairs, and some in triple and
 even quadruple pairs; and the uniformity and beauty af the  groups,
 corresponding, as they do, with the consecutive sympathetic points in
 the face, is more interesting than I can find language  to describe.
  Never Avas I so profoundly impressed with a sense of the Avisdom
 of that great and good Being, as on finding the location and group-
 ing of the different pans of organs, with  their corresponeling sympa-
  thetic points in the face.
    "  Thus, for instance, I find in  one  group those which relate to
  Attachments ; in another, those Avhich  relate to Home and Coun-
  try in another, those which relate to Will, Decision, Justice and
  Government; in another, those which  relate to the  Deity and a
  Future State ; in another, those which relate to the defence of our-
  selves, and the preservation of our own lives.   And all the^corres-
  ponding poto of the perceptive faculties, together with Sublimity, 
274
P H R E N O
-MAGNETISM.
are located in the eye;  and the poles of the affections are located
around the mouth !         ,
  " Their are two pairs of Individuality, one taking cognizance of
things and the other of  persons ; two of Eventuality, one pair tak-
ing cognizance of recent, and the other of ancient events; two of
Comparison, one pair for ideas, and the other for things; two of
Benevolence, one for giving, and the other for  pity ; two of  Ven-
eration, one for the Deity, and the other for man ; two of Firmness,
one relating to conscientiousness, and the other for perseverance,
etc.;  two of Self-Esteem, one  for the Human  Will and self-gov-
ernment, and the other  for the government of others; two pairs for
Fear; two for Music;  two for Place, and so of the organs of Con-
scientiousness, Belief,  Gratitude, Amativeness; three  of  Marvel-
ousness, one for Faith,  one for Human Credence, and another for
anticipating future events; and three for Secretiveness, one for Dis-
guise, one for Keeping  Secrets, and the  other for Cunning, as is
seen in  the cat and fox ; in the group of Acquisitiveness there are
three, one giving a desire for Money, one for Keeping, and one giv-
ing a disposition to Traffic; in the group of Approbativeness, there
are four, one giving  a regard for Character, one giving a desire
for Praise, Notoriety, one giving  a sense of Ridicule, and another
giving a desire for Show, and when large, giving Vanity.

  " Opposite Organs—Positive  and Negative.—Another import-
ant fact, deeply interesting to Phrenologists, which is demonstrat-
ed by my discoveries, is the opposition  of the different mental or-
gans.  My experiments have proved that the organs are balanced
by positive and negative poles ; and that their functions are in op-
position to each other is certain.   As, for instance, one organ is for
Joy, another for Sadness; one for Love, another for Aversion ; one
for Self-Government, another for  Submission ;  one for Forgiveness,
another for Retribution; one for  Patience, another for Discontent-
ment ; one for Courage, another for physical Fear;  one for Confi-
dence in man, another for Suspicion or Jealousy ;  one for Ancient,
another for Recent Events ; one giving a desire to see Old Places,
another for NeAv Places, or traveling; one for Destructiveness, an-
other for Preserving ; one for Keeping Secrets, another for Loqua-
city ; one for Opposiveness, another for Suavity; one  for Self-
Esteem, another for Humility ; orie for Praise, anothe»for Censure; 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          275
one giving a sense of Dependence, and another giving a sense of
Independence; &c, Sic.
  " This discovery gives the true solution of various shades in the
characters of different individuals, which have never been explain-
ed, either by Phrenologists or in any system of mental  science
heretofore offered to the Avorld.  And  hoAV beautifully  this  fact
agrees with the arrangements of nature, to which we have before
referred.  There are two magnetic forces, Positive and Negative ;
one repels and expands, the other draws and contracts.   And by
these forces all the functions of the  human  system are carried on,
not excepting the exercises of the  mental  organs.  For hoAV else
could these organs he exercised at all?   Should they  be subject to
one motion, merely, only in one direction, it Avould be insanity, or
madness.  The organ of Joy, for  instance,  is counterbalanced by
an organ of Sadness.   Were one of these  organs to be exercised
 without another to check  it, Monomania would be the result, and
 so of the others.
   " Correspondence in  the Position and  Functions  of the
 Organs—It had long been known to phrenologists, that the lower
 the organs in the head,  the more their functions corresponded  Avith
 the propensities common to the animal creation.   But my experi-
 ments have demonstrated, that one pair of the same organs is  more
 elevated and refined in  its functions than the pair beloAV it.  Thus,
 I find, the first pair of Amativeness are common  to  animals; the
 pair  above are appropriate to intellectual  enjoyment.  The lower
 organs of Comparison  take cognizances of things, the upper ones
 compare ideas; the lower organs  of  Causality are exercised on
 things, the upper on metaphysical  subjects.   And it is  a remark-
 able fact, that from mere animal  instincts, Avhich relate  to the
 preservation of life, and selfish  gratification, the organs not only
 ascend in the head, but also  in the nature of  their functions, till
 we come to  the highest, which take cognizance of our relation to
 the  Deity,  and a future state,  not excepting  one which is ap-
 propriate to calculating, or perceiving future contingencies !
    "New Phrenological Organs.—While our experiments have
 in a most remarkable manner, confirmed the discoveries of the im-
 mortal Gall, they have brought out and demonstrated the existence
  of new organs, among which are the following, viz -.-Humility, 
276          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
Joy, Gratitude, Patriotism, Jealousy, Modesty, Aversion, Smell,
Taste,  Pity, Cheerfulness, Weeping, Contentment,  Wit, as dis-
tinguished  from Mirthfulness;  Melody, as  distinguished from
Harmony;  Retribution, as distinct from Destructiveness; Method,
directing as to  the Manner in which things should be done ; Regu-
larity, as to time and order ; Disguise ; Praise ; Filial Love; Love
of Pets, as  distinguished  from Philoprogenitiveness; besides the
pairs of the organs already described, Avhich, as will be seen, more
than double the number heretofore supposed by Gall, Spurzheim,
Combe and others.
   " Thus I have given a  concise account of the results of the first
cerebral Magnetic  experiments, so  far as I  know, ever attempted
in this'or any  other part of the Avorld.   These discoveries are real,
and founded in the nature of  man, and they will ultimately be ad-
mitted and  advocated, as  their importance demands.  And to have
been an humble instrument in first making these facts known to
the world,  affords me  more  pleasure than I could ever derive from
silver or gold, or all that  this earth can afford.
   " No accounts of any similar discoveries, as far as  we know,
have ever been published in this or any other country.  Our ex-
periments have been  so  often  repeated, and for such a length of
time, upon different subjects, that Ave now feel fully authorized to
assume the above  positions.
   " After commencing my Magnetic experiments, I proposed to
two scientific  gentlemen,*  of this city, to assist me in conducting
them, and it gives me  pleasure to acknoAvledge the aid which their
kindness has afforded me in this interesting work.  And the re-
sults with  which these experiments  have since been repeated by
others, in different parts of the country, have, I think, sufficiently,
confirmed these assumptions, and left  no room to doubt as to the
influence which Magnetism is destined  to exert, in exhibiting and
proving the true Science of Human Life throughout the Avorld."

    The jealousy Avith Avhich these experimenters guarded the
honor which they supposed was to result from these great
exploits, is exhibited in the following extract from the same
* Dr. H  H. Sherwood and Mr. 0. S. Fowler, Phrenologist. 
                                                                      I
              PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         277

number of the Magnet.   It is an amusing item in the history
of scientific discoveries, and may be useful in teaching others
not to be in too great haste to blow the trumpet of fame for           I
themselves :—

  " New Discoveries.—Though the editor of this work believes           '
himself to have been the first who ever made use of Magnetism for           \
the  purpose of Phrenological discoveries, yet it would  seem, that
quite a number of others are somewhat anxious to share this honor
with him.   We have seen the names of tAvo different persons, re-
ferred to in an  exchange paper, as having been the first to discover
the  connection  between  Magnetism and Phrenology !  And this,
too, for the first time,  nearly one  year after the accounts of our
own Magnetic  cerebral discoveries had been published to the world !
Of course, it is an easy  matter for one to find gold, after the mine
has been discovered and opened by another.  But, before it can be
consistently assumed, that similar Magnetic discoveries to our own,
were previously made by another,  it  must be shown that the ac-
counts of them were previously published, and at the time they were
made.  This is Avhat we did, about one year ago.  And, we are
confident that nothing of the kind had ever been heard  of till long
after our experiments were commenced, Avhich resulted in  the dis-
coveries described in this Avork.  In the New-York Watchman for
August and October, 1841, were published the accounts of the first
Magnetic cerebral experiments, as far as we know, that ever Avere
performed,  in any part of  the world.   What discoveries may have
been  made by others, since, (and  following in our wake,) we,  of
course, do not  knoAV ; nor indeed, are we anxious to deprive an-
other of the credit of having made a discovery of the same thing,
a year or more after we had  published the account of it to the
Avorld.  For notices of  our discoveries have appeared in more than
one hundred different papers, in every part of the country, and they
have also been published in France and England."

   The following from the London" Phalanx" will give an ex-
cellent idea of  the reception Avhich  these discoveries  met
from the very learned gentlemen  who compose  the Phreno-
logical Society of London :— 
278          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
   " phrenological society.—On Monday evening there Avas a
 full attendance of the members of this Society, at their Chambers
 in Exeter-hall.
   " The President, Dr. Elliotson, delivered a lecture upon the con-
 nection betAveen Phrenology and Mesmerism.   He said: I have
 ahvays been scrupulously cautious  in introducing the subject of
 Mesmerism at  our meetings on account of the difficulties opposed
 to it, and  the prejudices existing against it in the minds of man-
 kind ;  and I would  not do any thing to create a difference of opin-
 ion in  the society.   But  assertions have  recently  been made in
 public, and opinions have been promulgated in society, (and I see
 no reason against  adopting them), that Mesmerism could explain
 some  of  the  most important  principles  of Phrenology.   I Avas
 always aware of the connection between them, as  Mesmerism re-
 lates to the Avhole  of the nervous  system, of Avhich Phrenology
 explains one part.   There is the less objection to my introducing
 the subject here at  present, as the Society for the Diffusion of Use-
ful Knowledge, with Lord Brougham at their head, and four of my
 late  colleagues at the London  University Hospital, have  now borne
public testimony to the reality and usefulness of Mesmerism.   This
 they have done in the monthly number of the Penny Cyclopaedia.
 What is more remarkable, they have borne their testimony just as
 strongly, and just to the  same  extent, as I have done in my  Phy-
 siology, for I have said no more than that one person can influence
 another in various ways, without the Avill or consciousness of the
 person influenced ;  that so one person can send  another to sleep,
 and again awaken the latter at pleasure ;  and that he Avould knoAV
 nothing of what might happen in the interval. I have said that this
 can be done, not only without the  knoAvledge, but even against
 the  will.    But I  was at last compelled,  to radmit  more  than
 this.   I Avas compelled  from  Avhat  I Avitnessed,  to  admit  that
 persons thus influenced  were rendered insensible to  pain,  even
 to that of  severe burning,  and of  sharp surgical  operations,—
 such as the insertion of setons, and  the removal  of tumors.   Yet
 to all these—mad as it must  appear—I have been obliged to admit
 ' vision without the eye.' Mad as it may appear, I have seen it
 in the most unequivocal manner in three cases, Avhere the eyes were
 blindfolded with the utmost care.
  « But I  have mentioned these things, gentlemen, more to smooth 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          279
my way in relating occurrences of a  more extraordinary  nature
which have happened in America.  In the course of last month, I
have received a series of neAVspapers from America containing ac-
counts of Mesmerism, from which  it  seemed that  Avhen an oper-
ator had reduced a patient to a state of stupor, he could excite the
phrenological organs  at  will;  that parts of  the  brain could be
awakened and excited, and afterwards be put to sleep again.
  " Dr. Elliotson then read from a New York paper an account
of  numerous  Mesmero-Phrenological  experiments, which  re-
lated  a  vast  number of public experiments  of similar  nature,
and with similar results.  In each case, it is represented that the
organs,  as named by the  Phrenologists, invariably manifested,
under mesmeric influence, the functions  attributed to them. 'The
relations excited the  greatest surprise in the  meeting, and Avere
listened to with deep attention.   He then stated that Avhilst these
things were proceeding in America, experiments precisely of the
same character and effect Avere carried on in different  parts of Eng-
land, by gentlemen who  kneAV nothing of the  operations  of each
other, or of those going on in America.   He had sent down copies
of the American  papers to Hampshire to  Dr. Engledue, with a re-
quest that  he would hand them to Mr.  Gardiner, a gentleman of
the  highest respectability and learning, the son of Sir James Gar-
diner, an  old member of  this  society.   It happened, curiously
enough, that Avhen Dr. Engledue went over to Southhampton, to
give the packet of  papers  (which he himself had  not opened) to
Mr. Gardiner, he found that gentlemen, Mr. Mansfield and others,
actually engaged in a  series of experiments, Avhich, on afterwards
looking into the packet, they found to  correspond  exactly with
those described in the American papers. Dr. Elliotson then read from
the Hampshire Telegraph, a long account of experiments by Mr. Gar-
diner, from Avhich we can  only make room for the  following:—
  " < I asked the patient referred to,  (a  young lady ignorant  of
Phrenology,) when in the trance, with Avhat part of the brain she
kept a secret ?   She replied, " on  the side of  my brain."    Upon
asking her to point out the  spot, she placed her finger exactly on
the  organ of secretiveness in my head.   I placed my finger on her
organ of secretiveness,  when she said, " Yes, just where I am
touching my head."  In the trance she fancies the two movements
are  identical.  Having asked her where  she felt anger, she placed 
280          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
her finger upon my organ of destructiveness.   I inquired—where
she felt hunger ;  her finger rested on my organ of alimentiveness.
I interrogated  her as to the time; she was wholly unable to tell
me.  The idea then struck me that I might possibly enable her to
estimate the hour by exciting the organ of time.  With this vieAV
I rubbed  the forehead gently at the required spot, exerting my vo-
lition to the utmost, of course ;  " Oh ! that makes me fell so odd."
1 asked her why ?  She replied,  " It makes me know what time
it is."   She then told  me the time Avith almost perfect accuracy.
She would afterwards always estimate the  lapse of time—intervals
—Avith astonishing accuracy, upon my exciting the organ of time
on her forehead.  Her finger rubbed on my forehead produced in-
variably  the same results (this is true of all the organs).
   "' Upon my exciting her organ of tune in the same way, she said,
" That makes me feel so very cheerful—it makes me like to hear
some singing."  1 requested her to sing.  She  persisted in as-
serting her inability,  until  I energetically  excited self-esteem,
when she said. " I'll try," and she forthwith hummed an air. When
her organ  of  color  was excited, she  exclaimed  with animation,
" Oh, oh !  I see green, yellow, purple, &c, such beautiful colors."
If, when she was unable to distinguish an object clearly, I excited
individuality,  she instantly perceived it  distinctly.   In the trance
she is never aware of her locality, until the proper organ is excited.
Upon one occasion, 1 excited constructiveness, Avhen she expressed
a desire  to make a cap model, which she executed upon being sup-
 plied Avith materials.   The organ called Avit or mirthfulness being
 excited,  she very soon began to laugh  involuntarily, although  I
 steadily  maintained my gravity.   I continued the operation, which
 produced an increase in her mirth until she fell into a continuous
fit of laughter, exclaiming as Avell as she could,  " I shall  die of
 laughing."
   " ' Upon exciting her organ of destructiveness, her whole  aspect
 and tone  gradually  underwent the most marked  change;  the
 " milk of human kindness"  gradually turned  to gall and venom ;
 she pouted, frowned, threatened,  stormed, clenched  her fist, and
 finally became exasperated.  Thinking I had gone far enough, I
 breathed on the organ with  a view to reduce its activity, and she
 very soon became calm, losing every symptom of anger.
    " ' The most beautiful results  Avere elicited by exciting the organ 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          281
of imitation.  She  commenced mimicking and imitating with ex-
traordinary and ludicrous accuracy several peculiarities  of her
acquaintances and friends, not omitting my friend Mr.  Mansfield
and myself in the act of magnetising.   Suddenly, by the exercise
of my whole energy, I paralyzed the organ, and instantly her power
of imitation  vanished.  I re-excited  the  organ, when she im-
mediately repeated her wonderful mimicry to our intense gratifi-
cation.' "

  Not one of those who have adopted this doctrine concern-
ing the excitement of the  Phreno-organs has yet  retracted,
or even expressed a  doubt concerning the  truthfulness of
their conclusions.   I  do not know of a phrenologist  in this
country who does not admit them to be true.  I believe that
I am the first  who has attempted to show their fallacy.
  The following  is a concise summary of the reasons why I
reject the doctrine :—
  1. When the subject is  Cla'.rooyant  he knows  the inten-
tion of the operator, or  of any third person who instructs the
operator how to proceed, so that no contrivance can deceive
him, and, therefore,  in Clairvoyant  subjects, touching is a
mere farce.
  2. When the subject  is influenced by  the will of the opera-
tor, this alone will explain all  the phenomena, even though
the subject is  not Clairvoyant.  In this case, also, touching
the head is a mere farce.
  3. When the subject knows or even  suspects that the
touching of a certain  spot is expected to produce certain re-
sults, he  is generally desirous to oblige  the operator, and
Avill act accordingly.   In this case touching the head is also
a farce, for under these circumstances  the same results can
be produced by touching anywhere else.
  4. When neither Clairvoyance, Will, nor the subject's pre-
vious knowledge can be brought to bear, the  result cannot be
produced.
  5. When the subject, the operator and all concerned be-
               13 
282          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
lieve in any peculiar notion, the experiments will not contra-
dict that notion, but will confirm it, however absurd it may be.
  6. Subjects are often Clairvoyant enough to know the in-
tentions of others, when the operator does not suspect it,
and the operator often influences the subject when he does
not intend to do so.
  7. Admitting that emanations of Etherium stream from the
extremities of the fingers—would they not be conducted away
in all directions by the innumerable nerves and blood-ves-
sels—the skull and membranes, which intervene betAveen the
external spot touched, and the Phreno-organs which are sup-
posed to be excited?  This objection acquires additional
force from the fact that the brain is especially isolated from
external influences.
   8.  The poles or sympathetic points Avhich the touchers
pretend to find, afford a most conclusive  argument against the
notion that touching proves the location of an organ, for it is
 impossible to know whether you  are touching a " pole" or
 an organ.   How do you know that there is  not a " pole" of
 Acquisitiveness in the integuments of the head just over Com-
 bativeness?  Mr. Sunderland says  that there is a spot at the
 top of the head, which, when touched, produces the most
 exquisite pain.   Hoav does  Mr.  S. know  that this is not
 the pole of Sanativeness ?
    9.  The different touchers do  not agree.   Fowler finds  an
 organ of " Human Nature,"  Avhere Buchanan  finds none.
 Sunderland finds nothing to contradict Gall  and Spurzheim,
 while Buchanan  finds that  " one third" of the organs are
 located wrong by Gall and Spurzheim.  Buchanan  locates
 Secretiveness and  Acquisitiveness   where  Gall   located
 Combativeness.   Sunderland locates them where Gall did.
 Some of the organs discovered by Buchanan, are ridiculed
 by Sunderland as absurd in themselves, and as contradicted
 by the  Touchological process.  I pronounce the whole a
  miserable farce, in which insanity and folly are  the princi- 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         283
pal performers ; for, the subject is certainly insane, and the
operator who supposes that he is making great discoveries
qy such means, is exceedingly foolish.
   10. A great parade and flourish of trumpets has been
made about the  beautiful manner in which  the different
traits of character have been  manifested by subjects, when
the organs were excited by touching; but all this amounts
to nothing, when  it  is  known  that the very same experi-
ments, the  same results, with the same beauty of style and
manner are produced, by simply saying to the subject, " you
are Macbeth;" or,  " you  are Queen Victoria;" or,  " you
are a saw-mill."   The subjects will generally  assume the
character, and act the part according to their conceptions of
it, niuch more perfectly than they  could  enact the same
when in the ordinary state; by this method you can make
them angry or  merry, reverential  or  profane, at your
pleasure.
  My attention has just been drawn to an account of some
experiments of Dr. Elliotson of London, a well-written ac-
count of Avhich I find in the recently published work  of Mr.
Lang of Edinburgh.   Dr. Elliotson  is one of the most dis-
tinguished physicians at present in Europe, and as far  as
mere authority  can  give influence, his  name  will have
probably more weight on this  subject than  that  of any
other man living.   I do not understand that he admits any
new organs, or new phrenological doctrines as proved,  or
even rendered  probable by the experiments, but he seems
to succeed in exciting the very organs which he previously
believed in, and no others ;—this being the case, even his
experiments afford an unanswerable argument  against the
pretensions of Buchanan,  Sunderland, Hall,  Fowler and
all the other discoverers of new organs.  If the brain real-
ly could be excited  in the way Dr.  Elliotson supposes
that  it can, it is no  more than reasonable  to suppose that
some new organs Avould be excited and discovered, and by 
284
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
no one more readily than him, since no man  in Europe
understands phrenology better, or  advocates it with  more
courage and ability than he does.   According to the follow-
i.ig account, it seems that when Dr.  Elliotson accidentally
touched Avith his finger one half of the organ of Self-Esteem
 (called  Imperativeness  in  my nomenclature),  that  the
organ was instantly excited.  Noav,  this being  the  case,
what is to prevent the function of any minute spot on  the
head from being known ?   And how can there be such an
irreconcilable  difference between the results produced by
different operators ?   Do  not  the  very  results  which  Dr.
Elliotson produced, indicate that his own mind is the  origin
of them, and that they are the mere echo of his ideas ?
   I have repeatedly  seen subjects whose  organs were so
easily excited by  touching the  head,  that I could not  touch
ever so slightly, Avithout something going off;  and yet,  under
the pretence of curing or preventing headache, I  have put
my fingers on eArery  part of  the head, without  producing
any effect; and I have no doubt such would be the case with
any of Dr. Elliotson's subjects.   Why is this ?
   Mr. Lang says,—
  " At the meeting of the Phrenological  association  in 1842, Dr.
Elliotson seemed to think that the evidence fell short  of proving
the truth of Mesmeric Phrenology ; but in a letter dated the 1st of
September, 1842, addressed to Dr. Engledue, and appended  to that
gentleman's address, he states that his coviction of the possibility
of Mesmerizing distinct cerebral organs is complete.  He then pro-
ceeds to  give the following account of two of his patients :—
  " ' I have had for some months under  my care, for dreadful fits
of many years standing,  Avhich are yielding satisfactorily to Mes-
merism, tAvo charming youthful patients,  of excellent cerebral de-
velopment, and carefully brought up, of high intelligence, and of
high moral character—beautifully illustrating the power of good
training upon a Avell developed brain.  No poet or moralist could
desire finer specimens of all that is delightful in the youthful mind.
They have not known each other.  They both exhibit exquisite 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         285
Mesmeric phenomena.   Are thrown into a profound coma, which
no impression on the senses will dispel, and which soon becomes
sleep-waking; their  limbs may then be stiffened at pleasure, and
endoAved Avith  enormous force, which, although not yielding to
mechanical violence,  gives way to contact, or to the breath, or to
movements of the operator's hand, Avithout contact, in the direction
opposite to that of the limb's position;  the various muscles of the
face may be made to twitch as if with electricity, and the eyes be
opened, or the  body be  draAvn  by movements of the  fingers and
hands held at a short distance; the position of each finger  of the
operator's hand will he minutely imitated, though the eyes be closed,
and  the  experiment be  made out of the patient's sphere  of vision.
Though showing all the signs of sleep in the breathing, the falling
of the head, the aspect and  the exquisite positions, they may be
roused to talk, but never to recognize  the person nor the place.
Their dream, if so it may be called, is perfectly  rational; but the
real place, and person addressing, and even the time, are invariably
fancied otherAvise than is the fact.'"

   It is perfectly obvious from this language that the subjects
were  in  such a condition that the intention of the operator
was known.   How could they possibly imitate  unless the
minds of the  subjects were in perfect  communication with
the mind of the  operator ? He is quite sure that they could
not  see,  and   yet could " minutely imitate," this is perfect
Clahwoyance.   He proceeds,—

   " I knoAV to a certainty that  both  are totally ignorant of phre-
nology.   Without any previous intention, I one day tried to mes-
merize some of the cerebral organs in the young lady.   On placing
the point of a finger on the right organ of attachment, she strongly
squeezed my fingers  of  the other hand, placed in her right hand,
and fancied I Avas her favorite sister ;  on removing it to the organ
of self-esteem,  she let go my fingers which were  in her right hand,
repelled my hand, mistook me for a person she disliked,  and talked
in the  haughtiest  manner.  On replacing the point of my finger on
attachment, she squeezed my fingers of the other hand again, and
spoke affectionately.  I removed the  point of  my finger to de- 
286          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
structiveness, and she let go  my fingers again, repelled my hand,
mistook me for some one she disliked,  and fell into a passion.
The finger upon benevolence  silenced her instantly ;  and made her
amiable though not attached.   I  thus  could alter her mood, and
her conception of my person at pleasure, and play upon her head
as upon a piano.
   " On repeating these experiments, I soon found that the same re-
sults ensued, though  not so rapidly, by merely pointing^the finger
near the organs; and this was  the more  satisfactory in  demon-
strating the facts to others; and indeed it has been quite satisfactory
to every one, for not only were the eyes closed, but  stopped up by
a handful of handkerchiefs, held firmly upon each eye, and  the ex-
periments were made on organs so situated, that had her eyes been
open, I defy her to know to what organ I  was pointing.   These
experiments I have repeated  twenty  times.  But a fact, still more
wonderful,  is this:—the state of the organ of one  side gives evi-
dence of itself on only half of the system."

   Why is it wonderful that a subject who can  perceive and
imitate fingers  which are beyond  the " sphere of vision,"
could know to what organ those  fingers were  pointing ?
And is it not reasonable to  suppose that the  effects upon
one half of the body  originated  in a suggestion  of Dr.
Elliotson's own thought-teeming mind ?  He says,—

   " For instance, if I place my fingers in her right hand, and mes-
merize Attachment in the right side, she squeezes them and mistakes
me for a dear friend; if I  then mesmerize  self-esteem on the left
side, she still speaks to me kindly, and squeezes my fingers with
her right as much as ever.   But  if I place my fingers in her left
hand she repels them, and speaks scornfully to me, mistaking me
for some one whom she dislikes.  If I take hold of both her hands
with one of mine, I can at pleasure make her repel both, by point-
 ing over  each organ of self-esteem  or destructiveness;  squeeze
 both by pointing over each organ of attachment; or repel  one and
squeeze the other, right or  left,  accordingly as I  point  over the
 organ of self-esteem  or destructiveness on the one side, and that of
attachment on the other, at the same  time.  These simultaneous, 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          287
and  especially  the  opposite influences on the two sides are the
most astonishing and beautiful experiments  that all physiology
affords ;  and the sight of them enraptures every person.   They are
the more satisfactory because there is  no necessity for me to operate,
—any person, even  a skeptic in both phrenology and mesmerism,
may point to and mesmerize her respective cerebral organs him-
self, if standing  behind her.   Under the opposite states of the two
sides of the brain, she will address the person supposed on the one
side or the other, and speak affectionately, proudly, or angrily, as
attachment on the one hand, or self-esteem or destructiveness on
the other, is mesmerized.  The expression, the tone, to say nothing
of the words or  the action of her hands, are exquisitely and rapidly
in character.  In the youth, the organs at present can be excited by
contact only of the point of the finger, or by breathing over them.
Attachment,  self-esteem, destructiveness, music and color, I have
excited in him, and the effects came very slowly  and continued
long.
  " It is very interesting to see the first degree, and the working
up  of the feelings.    When self-esteem begins  sloAvly they think
others are proud, and then  become haughty themselves; when de-
structiveness begins sloAvly, they  think others wish  to quarrel,
and then they quarrel—or they begin to find fault with the fancied
person, Avho is beloved in the waking state, and then mistake him
for one disliked  in the waking state."

   If she  could see  to  imitate  the operator  so well,  any
other person's finger would not be much  more difficult  to
perceive than those of the  operator.   I very lately had a
subject  in Manchester, N. H., a gentleman whose name I
have forgotten, but who is the  principal of an  academy in
that place—this gentleman, when apparently awake, was so
far under the influence of my mind, that by my volition—by
my merely  thinking of his ear being burnt, he acted as if it
was actually burnt.  I could do the same to his finger or any
part I willed.   If I stood behind him,  and put my finger
near his ear, or neck, or his hands (they being held behind
him), he immediately shrunk and said  that it hurt, yet I 
288        PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
did not touch him, but merely pointed within six inches of
the flesh.  He did not pretend that he could see Avhat I was
doing, but said that he experienced a sensation in the part,
Avithout knowing the cause :  the same happened if any one
else pointed.    I also  lately found  a  similar  subject  in
CooperstoAvn, Otsego  county, N. Y., named  Bates.  Mr.
Braid, of Manchester, Eng., seems to have noticed  similar
cases, and he  attempts to account  for  them by supposing
that the ordinary function of "feeling is abnormally exalted."
It is certain that sometimes the senses are abnormally exalted
in the subjects to a wonderful degree, and  this exaltation is
generally the  incipient stage of Clairvoyance.   When  the
currents of Etherium in a galvanic battery become exceed-
ingly intense  in  consequence of an additional  number of
plates being brought to bear upon one wire,  or avenue, it will
always  overcome ordinary isolation, and spurning its former
bounds, overleaping its constitutional limits, it tends to enter
into communication with other bodies—to induct them—to
make impressions upon them—and, by their re-action, to re-
ceive impressions in  return.   If the intensity is increased
still more, the parallel wires  or avenues are inducted,  and
their currents neutralized, or conformed in such a way that
they become vicarious in their function—that is, they per-
form an office and convey a current, which, of right, belongs
only to  the avenue which has exceeded its limits.
   From this  analogy it is easy to understand abnormal sen-
sation and  Clairvoyance, for  this also is produced by bring-
ing an additional number of cerebral plates to bear upon the
same avenue  or nerve of the subject, and Avhen the currents
of both  operator and subject take the same direction through
the same nerve, there is of course greater intensity, and when
there is greater intensity there is a tendency to pass the  iso-
lating bounds.  Hence Ave have uncommon manifestations
of muscular strength, which are, in fact,but modes in which
the currents  of Etherium are escaping.  Hence, also, we 
P H R E N O - M AGNETISM.
289
have abnormal manifestations of sensation or Clairvoyance—
Avhich are but the re-actions that follow the intensity in tho
nerves of motion—Avhich re-action is aidedby the induction
of currents from the operator, and from  other surrounding
bodies—and  let us remember that action and re-action are
equal.  Hence, again, we have  vicarious function—that is,
we have the nerves  or avenues of  one kind  of sensation
transposed so as to become the avenues of other kinds of sen-
sation ; Ave have  the nerves of touch changed to nerves  of
sight  or to  nerves  of  smell;  Ave  have  instances of subjects
who could smell with the fingers and see Aviththe toes.   If
anyone finds it difficult to conceive the possibility of this, let
me remind him that the different sensations are but different
motions of the same Etherium ; and that nothing is necessary
to produce this apparent miracle but to change  the motion
which is passing through one  nerve so as to make it like the
motion which is passing through another nerve;—the motion
through the nerves of touch like that through the nerves  of
sight.  Hence, too, we have utter insensibility and paralysis
produced by the currents of the operator counteracting, neu-
tralizing, reversing and conforming the currents to and from
the brain of the subject.   Again,—

   " A gentleman, Avho, through the kind invitation of Dr. Elliot-
son, was enabled to witness some experiments, has given the fol-
lowing account of Avhat fell under his  observation :—
   " ' At the hour appointed,  there assembled  in Dr. Elli otson's
drawing-room a party whom it Avould be exceedingly difficult to
match, for intelligence  and beauty, out of the metropolis ; for be-
sides that portion of the sterner  sex to  Avhom such an exhibition
might  be supposed to have its attractions, there  Avere present
" stores of ladies, whose bright eyes rained influence;"  and it argues
much for the interest Avhich this subject creates amongst all classes,
that a dissertation upon it should have the effect of  drawing  to-
gether however small a portion of the female aristocracy of Eng-
land,  who have, at this  season, so many  poAverful objects of at-
               13* 
290          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
traction of a more congenial nature ;  and it argues still more for
the Avorth and  intellect of  the fair ones of the British  Court, that
they should endeayor,bya personal inspection, to satisfy themselves
of the reality of that condition, Avhich, when once established, bids
fair to open up to us new vieAvsof the natural history of mankind.
   " ' The first patient introduced was a young  girl, Avho has been
operated upon hitherto in spite of herself.   She had all along been
inclined to treat the subject Avith  ridicule, and, after  having been
prevailed upon to submit, has since formed one  of the best illustra-
tions of its reality.
   "' It took a considerable time  to  effect  the transformation in
this instance, in consequence of her extreme state of excitement.
The  change  was  at  last effected, and, by dint of continued and
repeated  trials, she was  prevailed on  to  speak.  Dr.  Elliotson
stood beside her chair, and sustained  a conversation Avith her for a
considerable period, while another  gentleman stood  behind her
chair, and pointed at  (not touched) the various phrenological de-
velopments.    The changes in her looks, temper and  replies Avere
very apparent,  and such as to satisfy any one,  since it Avas im-
possible that she could form the slightest idea of the effects intend-
ed to be produced, even admitting that  these results where  pro-
duced by trickery,  Avhich they evidently were  not.
   " ' The chair on which she reclined was wheeled into  a corner,
and she was  left to  aAvaken at her  leisure.   The attitudes into
which  she threw herself Avhile in the course of awakening were
very beautiful, and might have afforded models  to the  painter or
 sculptor,  When awoke, she shook hands with, and  described her
 sensations to, several  of the ladies present.
   " ' The next case was that of an  elderly female, Avho, it was
 stated, had been cured by  Baron Dupotet of epilepsy, of many
 years' standing.  It is noAv several years since the cure was effect-
 ed, and no return of the complaint has yet occurred.  The holding
 of Dr. Elliotson's  fingers to her eyes was attended with an imme-
 diate  convulsive movement all over the system ; in a  very few
 seconds she fell back  in a state  of intense rigidity, Avhich could be
 removed by  breathing upon any particular limb.   In  Avhatever
 position, however, the limb was  placed,  it  almost instantly as-
 sumed the rigid state,  exactly resembling the sudden  setting  of
 stucco in a mould.  Several of the ladies went forward to examine 
PHRENO-MAONETISM.          291
for themselves, and each expressed their opinion, that it Avould be
impossible for the most expert impostor to imitate such a condition.
The pointing to the various organs  was now  tried, and  was at-
tended with even more striking manifestations than in the former
case.   In short, whoever could believe that these results were the
effects of  imposture, must have been possessed of even a greater
amount of credulity than others who humbly believed Avhat they
saw, and trusted to  time  and patient investigation for an elucida-
tion of the mystery.
   " <  The position Avhich Dr. Elliotson holds as a man of science,
places him far above being benefitted by any mere casual notice of
his labors; and it is indeed  gratifying to reflect, that although the
illiberal and bigoted of his  own profession have attempted to im-
pair his means of usefulness, there are  many others who,  Avhile
they have been  benefitted by  him, have had the  gratitude  to ac-
knowledge his services.'
   " Dr. Elliotson, and others, who believe in both Mesmerism and
Phrenology, maintain that the manifestations are  so many proofs
of the truth of  Phrenology;  while Mr. Colquhoun, who rejects
Phrenology, accounts  for them by the  supposition that they are
produced  by the Avill of the  operator; that the latter, in putting his
hand  upon a particular organ,  naturally looks for a certain result,
and that it is produced accordingly, through the community of feel-
ing existing betAveen  him and the patient.  In his letter appended
to Dr. Engledue's address  already referred to, Dr. Elliotson says,
in reference to the question  here started,—
   " ' If it should be urged, that these experiments prove  nothing
for phrenology, because the excitement of certain ideas in the brain
of the patient resulted from the mere Avill of  the operator, and not
from his manipulations over particular cerebral organs, the answer
is easy.   The Avill of the operator certainly must be influential in
producing Mesmeric sleep, if it is true that patients may be Mes-
merized to sleep when the Mesmerizer is far aAvay from them;
and I presume it is.   But this  can be only one source of poAver.   I
have made experiments in Mesmerism daily, except the two months
Avhen I travel in every  year, for five  years, carefully, Avith no
other desire than that of  truth, and in the utmost variety of cases,
and have  never once discovered the influence of my aviII.   I have 
292
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
never produced any effect by merely willing.  I have never seen
reason to believe (and I have made innumerable comparative experi-
ments upon the point) that I have heightened the effect of my processes
by exerting the strongest will, or lessened them by thinking inten-
tionally of other things, and endeavoring to bestoAv no more atten-
tion upon what I was about than was just necessary to carry on
the process.'"
   I do not understand that Dr. Elliotson means to deny that
the will of the operator does sometimes produce movements
in the subject, but only that he has not himself observed it,
yet the subject's minute imitation of  his fingers  can only be
referred to his own will moving his own fingers, and thus by
sympathy indirectly moving the  fingers of the subject.   I
confess that I have  myself found the effects which  I  have
produced Avere not in proportion to my conscious efforts.   I
have found that by my will  I could produce certain effects;
but I have not found those effects increased by increasing the
energy of my efforts, though I have found them  increase by
the continuity of the  efforts, and  by  repetitions of them at
different times.  But it is easy to convince any  one that his
will does produce certain  effects  which are independent of
the imagination of the subject.  I have satisfied hundreds in
the following manner, Avhich I will take the liberty to re-
commend to  the attention of Dr. Elliotson:  Take almost
any person who is  unacquainted with the subject, or with
the object of the experiment—ask him to sit doAvn and close
his eyes and  keep them closed—take hold of his hands as if
you are going to induct him in the usual manner, and, after
you have held them about five or ten minutes, let go carefully
of one hand ;  and will the thumb to move; and in five cases out
of six it will do so, even though  the subject is not  in the
least asleep,  and though he is so slightly affected  that he
stoutly denies that  he is affected  at all.   I have  generally
found, indeed, in this experiment, that, if there are not wit-
nesses present, the subject is apt to  attribute  the whole to 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         293
accident or fancy, because he feels nothing and experiences
no novel sensations.
  I succeeded perfectly in performing this  experiment a
few days ago upon the Hon. Judge Baker, of the Washing-
ton Common Pleas. This case is peculiar. I could slightly
move  any finger by my will, when his eyes were closed,
and he was unconscious of  the operation.   I performed the
same  afterwards Avhen he was aware of it, and what is still
more  curious, I could cause the muscles on the back of his
hand  to move and quiver by  my mere  will  or volition,
though he could not produce  the  same movement Avith his
volition.  Judge Howe and  Mr.  Attorney Baily were pre-
sent and witnessed the operation.
   In  Coopers town, Mr. Bates, when quite  awake, in the
presence of several citizens—if he closed his eyes and I stood
behind him and told him that I Avas going to will one of his
feet or hands to move, without  telling him which it Avas to
be, and requested  him to remain  merely passive—the ex-
periment succeeded to the satisfaction of all present. When
I merely wanted to satisfy myself—I willed, and  he moved
accordingly—but when I wished to satisfy  others, I stood be-
hind Bates and made a sign to let them knoAv which limb I
intended to move.  The Dr. says,—

   « So far from  willing, I have at first had no idea of Avhat would
be the effect of  my processes,—one set  of phenomena have come
unexpectedly in one case, and one in another, without my being
able to explain the diversity of effect: nay, the same process, con-
ducted with the same object, turns out to produce opposite results m
different cases.  For instance, 1 can powerfully  excite the individual
cerebral organs  in the young gentleman by breathing over them ;
but when I breathe over those of the young lady, desiring and ex-
pecting the same  effects, no  excitement is produced;  on the con-
trary,  if they are already excited,  they  at  once become inactive.
The same effect requires different processes  in different persons;
point to the epigastrium  of some  persons, and will with all your 
294
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
might, and no result comes, but point to their eyes, and they drop
asleep ; make passes, or point at the back  of the head, and will
with all your might, and either no effect  will ensue, or sleep will
not take place before far longer time has elapsed than if you oper-
ate before the face ; you may make passes  in vain Avith all your
might before the  face of some persons,  who drop  senseless pre-
sently if you merely point; and hence is apparent the error of those
who gratuitously  assert, that the processes merely heighten the will
of the operator.   As to the influence of the operator's will  in ex-
citing the cerebral organs, the  effect ensues  as well in my female
patient, though the manipulator be a skeptic, and may therefore be
presumed not to  wish the  proper result to ensue, and though I
stand aside and do not knoAv what organ he has in vieAv :  I have
never excited them  by the  mere  will: I have excited them with
my fingers just as Avell  Avhen thinking of  other matters with my
friends, and  momentarily forgetting Avhat  I Avas about: 1 have
ahvays failed, however much  I willed, when T have directed the
finger to another  organ than that which I willed to  excite inten-
tionally, or have accidentally misdirected  my finger."

   The true explanation of these cases,  and of many similar
puzzling phenomena is in  my opinion  to be found in  the
caprice and Credencive imagination of the subjects.  I have
found  that Avhere a subject gets any unfounded notion into
his head, either from  the suggestion of any one else, from
his own reasoning, or from the practice' of the operator,
this notion will  have the effect to prevent  the success of
eArery experiment which does  not  accord with it.  This is
the  reason  why different processes  succeed with different
subjects.   There  is a love  of forms and  ceremonies in
superstitious minds, (and the  best  subjects  are generally
predisposed to superstition,) a disposition to  connect effects
with certain peculiar mysterious processes, so that I think
it important in performing experiments, not to  neglect any
ceremony or movement which is calculated  to  produce an
effect upon the  Credenciveness and  Submissiveness of the
subject.   This is especially important when the  object is to 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         295
improve the health of the subject, and I commend it  to
the serious consideration of physicians as a valuable auxili-
ary to their forces medicatrix.  Again,—

  " 1 was taken quite by surprise when I found that I Mesmerized
an organ, self-esteem, for instance, in the  half  only to  which my
finger happened to he pointed."

   After subjects have learned that  touching or pointing at
a certain part is to be folloAved by certain movements ; that
is, as soon as they have learned  to know the sign, and  to
interpret it, they Avill always  aftenvards act in accordance
with their " first lessons," a subject therefore who by sym-
pathy and by Clairvoyance has learned what the sign is, and
what it means, does not afterwards need to know  any thing,
but that the sign is made ; and I have  already shown that
subjects such as this which Dr. Elliotson has, can tell av hen
a finger is held or pointed near them.  What I mean is, that
they use Clairvoyance  to learn the intention of the operator
the first time the experiment succeeds,  (provided that they
previously did  not knoAv  any thing  of Phrenology,) and
afterwards they knoAv by an exaltation of the senses, when
and where  the finger is pointing at them, after  the manner
of my subject at Manchester, N. H.,  and Bates at Coopers-
toAvn.   How would Dr.  Elliotson  himself  explain it ?
 Would he say that his fingers and the fingers of any person
evolve a stimulus which excites Phreno-organs against the
will of the operator ?  He has left us no other alternative,
and Ave knoAv that this is not true, since  we can put our
fingers upon the heads of any of these subjects to cure their
head-ache, and under other pretences without exciting their
organs at all until we excite their suspicions.

   " We are unable," says Mr. Lang, " to agree entirely either Avith
 Mr. Colquhoun or  Dr. Elliotson.  The  Avill  of the operator  we
 conceive to be totally insufficient to account for the varied manifes-
 tations of Phreno-Mesmerism,  The individual placing his hand 
296
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
 upon the organs may be an utter skeptic in phrenology, or he may
 be ignorant of their  position, and therefore not aAvare of the effect
 about to be produced, and yet the manifestation may be correctly
 produced.   On the other hand,  Ave think Dr. Elliotson mistaken in
 placing so little reliance on the poAver of the operator's Avill. That
 his own experience is faithfully related, there cannot be a doubt,
 but it has been different with many others.
   " We have seen many curious results flow from the mentally ex-
 pressed wish of the operator, some of  Avhich haA'e been recorded
 in the cases in this volume.  In that  of Catherine M-------•, on
 one occasion Avhen her brother had excited the organ of love of ap-
 probation, she began to decorate her person, took  doAvn her hair,
 and commenced to comb it.  The manifestation stopped the instant
 the finger was removed.  We quietly requested him, Avithout again
 going near the patient, to proceed to a distant part of the room,
 and there to Avish that the manifestation should be resumed.   On
 his doing so, she commenced at the part she broke off, Avent on Avith
 the duties of  the toilet, and did not stop until he again came  near
 her.  He was then requested, also in such  a  manner that the pa-
 tient could not be aAvare of Avhat was about to be done, to put his
 fingers  upon Conscientiousness, but firmly to will the manifesta-
 tion of Acquisitiveness.   It appeared to some present, that there
 Avas a conflict going on for a time in the mind of  the patient, but
 the practical result of the experiment  Avas,  that  she picked her
 brother's pockets.   He then ceased  to  wish,  keeping  his fingers
 still unmoved upon Conscientiousness,  when she threw aAvay the
 the articles of Avhich she had possessed herself, and exhibited strong
 marks of shame at having been detected in an improper act.  We
 do not bring forward these facts  for the purpose of disproving the
 organology of phrenology, but merely to shoAv that the will of the
 operator—his wish unexpressed in ordinary language—has a pow-
 erful effect upon the minds of certain patients.
  " Again,  patients  have been led into  erroneous  manifestations,
 through conversations carried on  by those aroupd them.  Thus,
an operator and  patient, alike ignorant  of phrenology, being se-
lected for the purpose of testing the truth of that  science, results
such as the following were induced : A gentleman present under-
took to guide the operator, and stating aloud that he intended  that
Veneration should be touched, directed the hand of  the operator to 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
297
the organ of Acquisitiveness.  The manifestation was that of Ven-
eration.   In  the same manner, the patient picked pockets on Ven-
eration being touched, and the  manifestation was invariably that
talked of  by the gentleman Avho directed, and not that of the organ
which the operator touched.  We have seen patients Avho danced
whenever a particular  part of the leg was touched;  discovered
smells, upon the hand of  the operator being applied to the nose ;
and spectators might almost have been led to fancy that there were
organs in every corner of the face.  In these cases, Ave should sup-
pose that there must have  been  some sort  of  previous teaching,
and that  the patient, associating the idea of  a particular manifesta-
tion with being touched in a particular spot, thus came to repeat
it.  We must recollect, that the  memory of sleep-Avakers is  much
more acute than in their  ordinary state,  and that the most trifling
occurrence is recalled by them with the greatest accuracy.
   "These hints are thrown out principally for the purpose of induc-
ing caution.  In the hands of some operators, organs are multiply-
ing at a wonderfully rapid rate, such as it is  difficult to follow ;
and inquirers would do well to proceed with the utmost care in the
investigation,  We neither admit nor reject Mesmerism as a proof
of the truth of phrenology.  We certainly  incline to the opinion
that the connection between the two doctrines will ultimately be
established ; but, meanwhile, we should like to see the question
submitted to the test of further careful experiment."

   Mr. Lang, like a shrewd  Scotchman, as he  is, seems to
 be a little  suspicious  that all is not right,  though he  lacks
 the courage and decision to attack and overturn the  error.
 His  remark  in regard  to the  memory of  sleep-wakers,  (an
 awkward term for subjects  whose external  senses are  in-
 ducted) is just and  important.   There are many instances
 of subjects recollecting, when the brain is in an  intense  ex-
 citement, what they had forgotten for many years; and in
 some well attested  cases even recollecting  every word of
 what they had heard  read but  once, and that  in another
 lancmao-e  many years   before-a language too with which
 they  Avere not acquainted  either then  or afterwards.   If 
298
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
such statements are to be  believed, how much dependence
are we to place upon the general assertion that the subject
knows nothing of phrenology, and yet is " an intelligent"
person.  What intelligent person has not seen  busts and
phrenological works and pictures, &c, Avhen the works of
Spurzheim and Combe, like the blessed light of heaven,
illuminate every  palace, mansion and cottage throughout
the country.   Though they may know comparatively little
about it noAv, they once  did knoAv, and may recall the im-
pression in some instances,  and cause it, like a false light—an
ignis fatuus, to lead the confident experimentalist astray.
   Mr. James Braid, of  Manchester, Eng., has published a
work during the last year  entitled Neurypnology, or  Hyp-
notism, or the rationale of  nervous sleep considered in rela-
tion to Animal  Magnetism.  There is nothing novel  in the
principles advanced by this gentleman, nor in the facts which
he brings forward in support of them ; but he has a singular
way of viewing the subject, and has attracted attention  by
professing to  have made a discovery by which he can put a
majority of persons to sleep in a few minutes, by causing
them to look upwardly  and  inwardly  in  such a  way as to
tire the eye and the mind.  His discovery, however, amounts
to nothing, that I can percehre, more than we knew before.
He labors throughout his work Avith  the zeal of a young con-
vert, but he  also betrays  the  inexperience  of a neophyte.
Yet there is an evident candor and honesty in his style which
wins our good opinion, and besides, he has interwoven much
interesting matter into his treatise.   He rejects the idea of
a fluid or Etherium of any kind  being the agent by which
the phenomena are produced  ; but at the same time candidly
admits that he is puzzled to account for them.  He has never
had an opportunity to witness  any cases of Clairvoyance
which Avere of so extreme  and decided  a  character as to
satisfy him that it is more than  an  abnormal exaltation of
the senses, it is therefore  plain  that his observations have 
             PHRENO-MAGNETISM.          299

been quite limited.   Some of his experiments  seem to puz-
zle him exceedingly, which are easily explained by the prin-
ciple of  Credencive induction; a principle, in truth, which
explains many of the most mysterious of the cases which
Etheropathy presents.   On page 4, he says :—
  " There were certain phenomena, Avhich I could readily induce
by particular manipulations, whilst I candidly confessed myself
unable to explain the modus operandi by which they were induced.
I referred particularly to  the extraordinary rapidity Avith which
dormant  functions, and a state of cataleptiform rigidity, may be
changed  to the extreme opposite condition, by a  simple waft of
wind, either from the lips, a pair  of bellows, or by any other
mechanical means.  I solicited information on these points, both
privately and publicly, from all the eminently scientific gentlemen
Avho honored me with their company during the  meetings of the
British Association  in this town ; but no one ventured to express
a decided opinion as to the causes of these remarkable phenomena.
 1 now beg to assure every  reader  of this treatise, that I shall
 esteem it a great favor to be enlightened on points Avhich I confess
 are, at present, still  above my comprehension."

   This experiment is well calculated at first view to excite
 surprise; but when it  is known  that not only  a " simple
 waft of wind" but a simple  ceremony  of  any  other kind,
 such  as whistling, or snapping of the fingers, or any thing
 else, will produce the same effect, we shall begin to look to
 that power of the  mind which believes in and submits to
 ceremonies and processes, in  full confidence that they are
 potent in themselves.   In this particular case, I take it that
 Credenciveness was the agent which produced the rigidity,
 and which so readily changed it to a  natural condition.  Mr.
 Braid himself says,-in his preface, that  the  fact that some
  patients operated upon themselves  " and produced results
  precisely the same as  when  done by any one  else, seems
  the most decisive proof possible that the Avhole results from
  the mind and body  of the patient's  acting and re-acting  on 
300         PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
each olher, and that it has no dependence on any special in-
fluence emanating from another."   Noav  this is the same
conclusion to which many others have arrived, from an im-
perfect vieAv of the subject;  but none of these have attempt-
ed to  explain the modus operandi in which it is possible that
the mind or the imagination produces the effects.   I believe
that I am the first to attempt to give an explanation, and on
this ground I claim  some indulgence.   I think that I  have
shown that  those gentlemen are mistaken Avho attribute all
the effects produced to the imagination of the subject, and
on the other hand I  have explained hoAV it is that the mind
of the subject is capable of producing those phenomena
which have hitherto seemed so very mysterious.  He says :
  " I have also had the state of the patient tested before, during
and after being hypnotized [mesmerized], to  ascertain  if there Avas
any alteration in  the magnetic or electric condition, but  although
tested  by excellent instruments, and Avith great care, no appreciable
difference could be detected  Patients have been hypnotized whilst
positively, and also whilst negatively, electrified, Avithout any ap-
preciable difference in the phenomena ; so that they  appear to be
excited independently of  electric or magnetic change.   I have also
repeatedly made tAvo  patients  hypnotize each other, at the same
time, by personal contact.  How could this be reconciled with the
theory of a special  influence transmitted being the cause of the
phenomena, plus and minus being equally efficient ?"

   Many seem to stumble over this difficulty.  They think
that because in applying common electricity, or magnetism,
they can perceive no effect  from  it, either  one  way or the
other, therefore, there can be no  " special  influence trans-
mitted."  But this reasoning  is  not in harmony with the
Avell known facts in Etherology.   Light and heat  are, by
modern  philosophers,  considered  as the  motions of the
same  substance  ; both are referred to a " special influence
transmitted ;" yet, a  room warms Avhen light or dark, and
it is lighted when cold or warm, " without any  appreciable 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.
301
difference" in the  phenomena.   So, also, magnetic  elec-
tricity operates through glass, without any apparent diminu-
tion  of poAver ;  but  electricity Avhich  is  evolved  by the
friction of a common electric machine, will  not produce
any effect whatever through glass, nor  shellac, nor resin ;
yet, there is  no  doubt, in the minds of  our most eminent
chemists, that the  electric machine and the magnet both
depend upon modifications of  the  same " special influence
transmitted."
   A common bar magnet will attract iron and produce all
its phenomena,  " whilst  positively, and also whilst  nega-
tively, electrified, without any appreciable difference," but
it by no  means follows that they are independent of any
electric or magnetic change.
   As for the fact which seems to puzzle  Mr.  Braid, that
" two patients" induct, or  " hypnotise  each other at the
same time, by personal contact," it is explained by credencive
induction. The truth is,  personal contact  is not necessary
 in such  cases ;  nothing  is necessary but  signs, ceremo-
 nies and assertions,  by  which to  excite  the conforming
 socials, especially Credenciveness.
   The  argument  against  the  agency  of Etherium   in
 Etheropathy, drawn from  these  difficulties of Mr.  Braid
 and others, amount to nothing, unless they apply it equally
 to refute the idea of a fluid in magnetic or electric pheno-
 mena.  Let them  explain,  if they can, Avhy a  magnet can
 be made of no metal but  iron or cobalt, and yet that electro-
 macmetism  can be produced by the combination of acid
 with any metal ?   If  a  fluid draws a piece of iron, why
 should it have  no effect upon silver ?
   At page 37,  Mr. Braid says :—
   « The supposed poAver of seeing with other parts of the body
 than the eyes, I  consider is a misnomer, so  far as  I have  yet per-
 sonally witnessed.   It is quite certain, however, that^e  patients
 can tell the shape of what  is  held at an inch and  a half from  the 
302          PHRENO-MAGNETISM.

skin, on the back of the neck, crown of the head, arm, or hand, or
other parts of the body, but it is from feeling they do so ;  the ex-
tremely exalted sensibility of the skin enabling them to discern the
shape of the object so presented, from its tendency to emit or ab-
sorb caloric.   This, hoAvever, is not sight,  but feeling.
  " In like manner I have satisfied myself and others, that patients
are drawn, or induced to obey the motions of the operator, not
from any peculiar inherent magnetic power in him, but from their
exalted state of feeling enabling them to discern the currents of air,
Avhich they advance to, or retire from, according to their direction.
This  I clearly proved to be the case to-day,  and that  a  patient
could feel and obey the motion of  a glass funnel passed through
the air at a distance of fifteen feet."

   This gentleman  tells  us something  here Avhich is quite
as difficult to conceive and to  admit as anything  in Clair-
voyance :—that a person can perceive the shape of a thing
by the back of  the neck, without contact, merely by  the
feeling ot  warmth  or coldness.  And when the  distance is
fifteen  feet,  finding  that  the  variation  of temperature
will not be a plausible theory,  he adopts another, which is,
that it is the perception of the  touch of the air ! !  Really,
his skepticism is of a most credulous kind—to avoid  Scylla,
he betakes himself to Charybdis.  He proceeds,—

   " To remove all sources of fallacy as to the extent of influence
exercised by the patient herself, independently of any personal or
mental influence on my part, vvhilst I was otherAvise engaged,  my
daughter requested the patient to  go into a room  by herself, and,
when alone, try whether she could hypnotize herself.  In a short
time I was told the patient was found fast asleep  in my draAving-
room.  I went to her, bandaged her eyes,  and then, with the glass
funnel, (which I  used to avoid the chance of electric or magnetic
influence being passed from my person to that of the patient,)  ele-
vated, or drew up her arms, and then her whole body.  I  now re-
tired  fifteen feet  from her,  and found every time I drew the funnel
towards me, she approached nearer, but when it was forced sharply
from me, she invariably retired; and if it Avas  moved laterally, she
 moved to the right or left accordingly." 
PHRENO-MAGNETISM.         303
  In  this  country, I can  assure  Mr. Braid, that  every
chemical  tyro, and almost  every  schoolboy, knows that
magnetism will pass through a glass funnel just as Avell  as
through a steel funnel;  although electricity will  not pass
through glass, magnetism will.
  Page 65, Mr. Braid says:—
  " There is another most remarkable circumstance,  that whilst
the  patient  is in the state  of  torpor and rigidity,  we  may pass
powerful shocks of the galvanic  battery through the arms, so as
to cause violent contortions of them, without his evincing the
slightest symptom of perceiving the shocks, either by movement
of the head or neck, or expression of the countenance.  On partial-
ly arousing the head  and neck, as by gentle pressure on the eyes,
or passing a current of air against the face, the same shocks will
be felt, as evinced by the movements  of the head  and neck, the
contortions  of the  face, and the Avhine, moan, or  scream of the
patient. All this may happen, as I have witnessed innumerable
times, and the patient be altogether unconscious of it when roused
from the hypnotic condition."

  All this  is  no more  remarkable than that pinching, cut-
ting,  or burning will not be felt  by a subject  in  the same
condition.  As for  his " current of  air" to rouse  the sub-
ject, any other ceremony will  do as well.   To prove that
currents of air are  without  effect, unless  through the Cre-
denciveness of the  subject, I have only to say that  I have
put them  into this  condition when the wind  was blowing
freely upon them, and it made no difference.  I have many
subjects who, when perfectly awake, if I  tell  them that an
electric shock will  have no effect upon  them-unless they
whistle or sing, such will  be the case; and,  on  the other
hand, if I tell them that a  grindstone or a coffee-mill is an
electric machine, and will  give them  severe  shocks when
they  touch it, they will be shocked accordingly, and  seem
to  experience the  same sensations as if it was really an
electric machine.   Will Mr. Braid try this ? 
SECTION  XV.
          COMMUNION WITH SPIRITS.

   The belief of many very honest persons, in the commun-
ion of subjects with the spirits of the departed dead, is un-
doubtedly a delusion into which they have been led by their
own credulity, and the peculiar condition and superstition
of the subjects.  When a subject is under Etheropathic in-
fluence to a certain extent, he can be easily made to believe
that he sees or hears the supernatural inhabitants of heaven
or hell.  He can be inspired, and generally is, with the no-
tions  of the operator, especially if he is Clairvoyant enough
to perceive the state of the operator's mind.  Under these
circumstances, if  the  subject is  questioned, he will some-
times surprise, delight, or horrify the operator, by merely
echoing back to him his own superstitions.  I am acquainted
with a most respectable gentleman Avho Avas a Universalist,
but became converted to a belief in the existence of perdi-
tion, by a subject who described to him  the exact appear-
ance  of his mother, and several  other dear relatives Avho
were  dead, and who had never in life been seen  by the sub-
ject.   It did not occur to the  credulous gentleman  that his
own mind was like a mirror to the mind of the subject, and
that his own thoughts reflected the images of his departed
friends.  But he really supposed that by Clairvoyance the
subject actually looked into the eternal world, and from  its
countless myriads  selected his relatives and described them 
          COMMUNION  OF  SPIRITS.      305
with perfect accuracy.   He therefore proceeded to question
the subject as to what his mother said, and whether she had
any communication to make to him.  He Avas informed by
the subject, in  reply, that his mother  was in heaven, and
was desirous to warn her son of his errors, and  to  assure
him of his imminent danger of falling into eternal  perdition.
Overwhelmed  with  awe, and terrified with  these  solemn
revelations,  he  sunk on his knees, and in an agony of con-
viction surrendered his former faith, and from  that  day to
this has acted consistently  with  the resolves of reformation
which he then  made.
   There is at this moment a large number of very respecta-
ble persons  in this State, who  sincerely believe   in  the
reality of communion Avith spirits by means of Etheropathy ;
to ridicule it will only make their belief  stronger  by excit-
ing the principle  of stubborn opposition ; but I think they
will become convinced of  their  error  when  they find that
subjects can be made to believe or to see any  thing which
whim or caprice may suggest, provided they have not been
previously committed for or against  it.   Many persons have
become  convinced of the  existence of supernatural spirits
from the  evidence afforded by mesmerism who Avere previ-
ously skeptical, and on the  other hand many have become
convinced of the reality of mesmerism from the supposition
that it proved  the existence of spirits, and was therefore
favorable to religious  belief.  The truth, however, is  that
mesmerism  or  Etheropathy sheds no light whatever  on this
subject.   It leaves it where it finds it.
   Emanuel  Swedenborg was undoubtedly one of  the great-
est men that ever lived ;  and possessed the extraordinary
power of exercising Clairvoyance whenever he pleased.  He
Avas literally a " Seer."  I suspect that he obtained some
of his wonderful scientific knowledge of nature by the exer-
cise of this power ; but his supposed communion with spirits
and many of his other peculiar ideas probably originated in
his own Credencive fancy.   It was  perfectly natural for  one
                14 
 306      COMMUNION  OF  SPIRITS.

 who had  been educated in the  popular belief concerning
 supernatural beings, to imagine, when he found himself pos-
 sessed of Clairvoyant perception, that  he wras indebted to
 these beings  for his peculiar advantages over his fellow-
 men.   If  he  was a good and  virtuous man like the Baron
 Swedenborg, he would imagine that his inspirations pro-
 ceeded from good and happy  spirits, who condescended to
 sympathize with him.   But if he was conscious of his own
 moral depravity, he would be likely to  clothe the spirits,—
 whom his creative fancy called  " from the vasty deep" of
 superstition—with characters like his own.  He would con-
 ceive  them to be selfish, malignant and revengeful like him-
 self.
   I have little doubt that the  ancient witches, spoken of in
 the  Bible, were persons  who ignorantly made use of induc-
 tion and Clairvoyance for  wicked and malicious purposes,
 and this is the reason of ^the command," Thou shalt not suffer
 a witch to live."  It is also evident  that the witches them-
 selves attributed their success to their alliance Avith infernal
 beings.  Some of the Salem witches confessed that they had
 been aided by the devil,  and admitted the justice of the sen-
 tence of death which followed the confession.  These poor
 witches were unquestionably insane in mind and peculiarly
 diseased in body, while the whole surrounding community
 considered them as willful rebels against God and allies of
 the Prince of darkness.
   Some  modern fortune-tellers have been supposed to  be
 in league with Satan, on account not only of their successful
 impostures, but from their actual performances  and revela-
 tions.  Some  have the power when  looking into a particu-
 lar stone or piece of semi-transparent glass to perceive in a
 Clairvoyant manner,  Avhich is well  calculated to  excite
astonishment in a superstitious and  ignorant mind, some
again have a faculty of lallcing  to sores, felons and burns, in
such a way as to " take the  soreness out,"'they actually 
           COMMUNION  OF SPIRITS.      307
 perform this apparent miracle whenever the patient  is in
 any  degree   susceptible  to  Etheropathic  induction,  but
 not otherwise.   It  is my opinion that there are  peculiar
 kinds of susceptibility which  have  not yet  been noticed
 by scientific men, and  which will  explain many strange
 things that now are deemed as  mere idle dreams or strik-
 ing coincidences.   I suspect  that some persons  are Clair-
 voyant when asleep and dreaming who  are  not so when
 awake, and  that therefore  in their  dreams they perceive
 things  which seem  like communications  from  spirits  of
 another world, warning them of the  death, or sickness, or
 treachery of friends, or of  any thing else which concerns
 them : this Avould account for the truthfulness of some re-
 markable dreams.
   I also  suspect that some  persons are Clairvoyant in a
 peculiar and  singular manner and at certain times, while at
 other times and in other modes they are not so.   I know a
 lady who is not considered susceptible,  and  yet she has re-
 peatedly foretold the coming of friends at a certain hour,
 and declared  in the most positive manner that she felt cer-
 tain (she kneAV not  why)  that they  would  arrive at a
 certain time,  although letters had just been received stating
 that they would not come under several Aveeks ; yet she was
 right, and they actually arrived at the time she predicted.
 Once  she arose in the morning  and told a friend to his
 astonishment what he had been thinking  about.  It was a
 subject  upon which  he had never uttered  a  word, and  it
 was impossible for any one to conjecture that such a thing
 occupied his mind.   This same lady frequently has  an im-
 pression concerning the character or designs of her acquain-
tances which is perfectly correct, but which  can only be
accounted for by a kind of peculiar  and imperfect Clair-
voyance.
  The impressions which  some  persons  ha\re  had that
they were to  die at a certain time, may  also be sometimes 
308       COMMUNION  OF  SPIRITS.

derived from a species of Clairvoyant or abnormal percep-
tion,  producing  Avhat  is  called  a presentiment.   This
subject is full of interest, and well  deserves the attention
of scientific and inquiring  minds, but  I cannot  pursue it
further at present. 
SECTION   XVI.
          ABUSES  OF  ETHEROPATHY.

  The abuses of Etheropathy have been few as yet, but I
feel bound to warn the unwary of the dangers to which they
may be exposed.
  I have had many subjects, who, when to all appearance
perfectly awake, would believe that a piece of blank paper
was a bank note of any denomination which I asserted it to
be.   At Saratoga Spa, in the presence  of Judge Marvin and
many other  gentlemen, I made a young man of excellent
character take  worthless waste paper for bank notes, and
give me a written obligation for a  large amount of money
which he supposed he had received. Suppose him to be the
cashier of a  bank—would not this be a dangerous power in
the hands of a dishonest man ?  Or suppose him to be worth
a large amount of property in real estate—he might be made
to transfer it by deed in the presence of witnesses, while
he was under this  influence, and the witnesses not  suspect
that he was  in a state different from usual.  The witnesses
would go into court and swear that he seemed perfectly ra-
tional  and master of himself, and yet he would be in such a
condition that he could not perceive anything to be different
from what it was asserted to be by the operator.   Black
would look  white, if the operator declared it to be so.  Cop-
per would look and feel and  sound like gold, if the operator
affirmed it.   In a word, the subject and all his property
and other legal rights would be at the mercy of the operator. 
310
ABUSES  OF
He could  be made to sign anything—a deed, or marriage
contract—a confession of murder, or anything else.
  Others can judge as well as I how far this power will in
future be abused ; but I perform my duty in giving a warn-
ing to susceptible subjects.   Let them not lightly disregard
it.  They should know that when once thoroughly inducted
by one person  they  can easily be  inducted  by any person
who is permitted to attempt it.  They should know that they
may be made  to perform very  improper actions without
being aware  of it, and  without  afterwards recollecting it.
They should know that they may be made to commit actions
which in the  eye of the law are criminal, without really in-
tending to do any wrong whatever.   A woman may be made
to believe that the operator is her father, or brother, or sis-
ter, or husband, andshe will act accordingly ; and afterwards
she will have no recollection excepting such as the operator
pleases.  It is my opinion, founded upon experiment, that
one person in twenty is susceptible of this peculiar influence.
  It may be said, that this is dangerous knowledge and had
better not be communicated publicly.  I confess that it would
be safer if it could be confined to  the medical  profession ;
but this is impossible.   It will necessarily be  knoAvn to a
sufficient number to render the knowledge dangerous.   No-
thing can prevent unprincipled and dishonest persons from
gradually learning  to avail themselves of this power to the
injury of the unsuspecting.  The only remedy is to let the
public know at once the real nature of the power which the
operator wills, and then  every one will be upon his guard.
  In some European countries laws have been enacted for-
bidding any person to practice Etheropathy, excepting re-
gular medical professors or physicians, and I Avould  respect-
fully recommend some such enactment  in this  country, to
protect the innocent from the consequences of their own ig-
norance and the arts of accomplished knaves.
  I would also suggest the propriety of a law rendering any 
ETHEROPATHY.
311
contract voidable which is made by an operator with a sub-
ject, except when sanctioned by a physician in the presence
of a magistrate.
                  IMMORAL INDUCTION.
  There is another abuse of Etheropathy to which I deem
it my duty to allude.  I refer  to  the influence of immoral
associates upon susceptible persons.  I have in several in-
stances  seen persons whose organization indicated honesty,
sobriety and virtue, but who were notwithstanding reputed
to be the very reverse.  These persons were highly suscep-
tible to Etheropathic influence, and having fallen into vicious
society  were unfortunately inducted and vitiated  so as to
conform to the will of their vicious companions.  It is  true
that neither the subject nor the companions intended to  pro-
duce this result, nor even suspected the nature of the agent
Avhich  was  active between them ; perhaps neither of them
ever heard  of mesmerism, nor  Etheropathy, nor animal
magnetism, yet they unconsciously employed it, and the  sub-
ject was innocently inducted and seduced by its agency.   I
would therefore advise those who are  aAvare of their suscep-
tibility or that of their friends, especially the young, to avoid
the society of those whose examples  or conversation are of
an immoral character.   Vice and virtue are capable of being
imbibed with wonderful facility by persons susceptible of
etherean induction, and this  fact being known may be of
infinite  service to some who would otherwise be ruined.
  Some observations which I have made incline me to the
opinion that many persons are  susceptible  to  abnormal in-
duction of a peculiar kind, which has  not hitherto been sus-
pected to exist—an induction which is gradual and insidious,
and the process of which is complicated.   I would denomi-
nate it gradual social induction.
  Many persons  acquire the habits of their associates  with
a degree of facility which  cannot  be accounted for by their
phreno-organic developments, the organs  of  Imitativeness 
312
ABUSES OF
and Approbativeness, &c, being below medium, yet on trial
they are not readily inducted in the ordinary manner, and
are therefore not supposed to be susceptible persons.  The
fact is, that they are susceptible to gradual and continued in-
duction, but not to sudde,n induction.  They become inducted
by long continuance in the  society of persons of superior
energy, and if they are young, a bias is thus given to their
characters which becomes incorporated into their constitu-
tions, never to be effaced.  A thousand reflections naturally
arise  in the mind of  any one, who feels an interest in the
cause of education and of good morals, from the above con-
siderations.   We are more  than ever impressed with the
importance  of selecting proper teachers and companions for
the young, and of securing them from improper influences.

                   Local Induction.
   I suspect that there  is in some localities a greater tenden-
cy to susceptibility than in  others, and I have endeavored,
though without much success, to  ascertain the local causes
of susceptibility.   I have found blacksmiths, iron-workers
and  printers,  more susceptible  as  a class  than  soldiers
and farmers.  Is it because those who work among metals
become, in some degree, inducted by them ?  I found that
of thirty U. S. officers at West Point not one was susceptible.
Is it on account of their habits of self-control, and of control-
ling others ? their manly exercises ? their skeptical, mathe-
matical, unimaginative education ?  or  is it all these causes
combined ?   I have often found persons susceptible in a high
degree, who had injured their constitutions by habits of in-
temperance.  Why is this  so ?  On this  point, as well as
many others in Etherology,  we need statistical information,
derived from long continued and extended observations care-
fully made  and recorded by a Society of Ethereans.
   Was not the Salem witchcraft caused in some measure by
the food, or the state  of the  atmosphere ?  Was it not an 
ETHEROPATHY.
313
endemic disease ?  May not local causes, or diet, or occupa-
tion, or medicine, have an  important agency in producing
susceptibility  by weakening the  isolation ?   May not cer-
tain kinds of medicine  be discovered which may produce
susceptibility ?  May not some diseases  (especially  those
of the mind) have their origin in Etheropathic susceptibility
and induction  produced spontaneously, and may they not be
cured by the same means ?   These things deserve investi-
gation.
14* 
SECTION   XVII.
         RULES  FOR EXPERIMENTS.

               CREDENCIVE EXPERIMENTS.

  1. Tell the subject that you intend to operate upon him,
and get his consent to it.
  2. Tell him that you are actually operating on him
  3. Perform some ceremonies  which  he  supposes are
essential  to the success of the operation.
  4. Be  serious, firm and kind, and assume a manner which
prevents  trifling, either on the part of the subject, or the
persons who  may be present.
  5. If the  subject has any reluctance to submit to the
operation, excuse him  at once ; do not persuade him as if it
is to do you a favor.   Say but little to him except what is
useful to the success of the operation.
  6. If  the  subject has  a guardian, you had better  not
operate unless the guardian or loco parentis requests it, and
during the operation, if any friends are alarmed, or begin to
dictate, it  is better to restore the subject and  decline to
operate upon him more ; but while you do operate, allow of
no  superior.   A commanding  imperativeness  and  firmness
is as  important  in the  operator, as conformity  is in  the
subject.   The  operator should for the  time  be perfectly
" master of his subject" and of every one else wdio is present,
so far as to  require order, and a conformity to regulations ;
but the operator should in no case lose his temper or mani-
fest any  irritability; his motto should be " mildly but firmly." 
EXPERIMENTS.
315
  7. Let the subject sit down in a common chair without
resting his head.  Let him incline his head slightly forward,
close his eyes, and keep them gently closed.   Let him not
speak, nor move unless it is necessary to his comfort.   Let
him not cross his legs, as it will interrupt the circulation.
  8. Sit doAvn before him and take hold of  his hands in any
way you please, provided it conveys to the subject the im-
pression that you are making an effort to affect him, and that
your taking  hold is a useful part of the operation.
  9. You may sit thus before some persons an hour, with-
out perceiving any effect whateArer, and afterwards succeed ;
but, as a general rule, more than fifteen minutes is a waste of
time.    The  first  symptoms  which subjects  exhibit, are
various, and often depend upon their fancy, their previous
knowledge or reading, or what they have heard  is the first
effect.  But there are some symptoms Avhich are evidently
involuntary—one  is a  slight tremor,  which  sometimes,
though rarely, is increased to convulsive twitchings.   If the
convulsions  become alarming, the operator should  never
lose his coolness and self-command under any circumstances,
but rouse the subject and restore him.  I have never had
but two such cases, and  both were caused  by previous
nervous disease.  Another common and favorable symptom
is the breaking out of perspiration, Avhich  is of  course in-
voluntary.   Another symptom is that  when  the operator
places his hands upon the top of the head  and passes  them
down to the shoulders, the  subject breathes louder every
time  you do  so.  In some cases none  of these symptoms
are exhibited, and yet  the subject is  perfectly inducted in
five minutes.
   10.  When you wish to ascertain Avhether you have suc-
ceeded in inducting the subject, press your fore-finger on the
forehead where it joins the nose, or press one finger on one
eye-brow and another  finger on the other brow, and, in a
low voice, say to the subject, " you cannot open your eyes," 
316
RULES  FOR
and if he is sufficiently affected, he cannot open them ; he is
not asleep, and, perhaps, he had no  idea till  this  moment
that he was in any degree affected.   Now tell him to open
his eyes and to put his hands together ; lay your finger
across them and say," you cannot get your hands apart," and
he cannot; or, perhaps, he can with a great effort.  Now tell
him to extend his arm, and when he has done so, tell him
that he  cannot put it  down, and he  cannot.  If he is well
inducted, you-may tell him that he cannot step, or speak,
or see, or hear, or taste, and he cannot do it. Tell him that
water is rum, or ink, or hot, or cold. Tell him that black is
white, that he cannot  lift a feather, or a penny, and it will
seem  so to him. Tell him that a cent is gold, or silver, and
he will  receive it as such, and give you the  change.  Tell
him that  he  is  a  negro, a female, a dog, a fish, a post, a
steam-engine—that his head is  a coffee-mill—that he is
Richard, Hamlet,  Jackson, Clay, or what you please, and
he is transformed instantly and verily believes your asser-
tion to be true.  Tell him that he can Avalk until he gets
to such  a line, but cannot pass over it, and he cannot.
   11. If any other person besides the operator makes the
assertion, it has no  effect; but if the operator says to the sub-
ject—" such a person has influence over you," then the person
or persons mentioned  can influence the subject in the same
manner.
   12. There is considerable difference in subjects in respect
to how far the delusion can be carried—some cannot open
their eyes, or step, or move any muscle, yet they cannot be
deceived concerning colors, or their own identity ; some can
only be  deluded in one way, and some can in all ways.
   13. The influence will pass off from some subjects within
five minutes and cannot be  regained, but in most cases it con-
tinues several hours and in many cases several days.  I have
made  them stop in the street, a week after induction, by a
single word. 
EXPERIMENTS.
317
   14.  A large majority of those persons who have ever
been inducted or mesmerized in the usual way, can be made
to perform  these  experiments when  perfectly awake, and
when no one would suppose from their appearance that they
were in any degree affected or under any peculiar influence.
Five minutes are enough to induct them sufficiently for this
purpose.
   15.  Any person acquainted with Etheropathy, can feign
and imitate all these experiments, so  that no sagacity can
detect it.   The reality of the whole matter can be proved
only by the testimony of  the subject himself.  If he is am-
bitious to enjoy the character of an  impostor, he  may be
gratified by first becoming a liar.  When the subject says
that he cannot open his eyes, and pledges his honor to the
truth of his assertion, the only way is to assume that you
believe him.  If you doubt him, it is better not to tell him
nor any one else of your doubts : you  may do  him injustice.
Let every one  present judge for himself.    The  operator
should never say that he knows that the subject is not de-
ceiving, he  should only answer for  himself—for  his own
integrity.   He may say, if he thinks proper, what he knows
about the character of the subject for truth and honesty; but
he cannot truly say that the subject is  not deceiving, and he
should not risk his own reputation by  doing so.
   16.  The  advantage  in performing Credencive  experi-
ments, is, that they are successful upon about  one person in
twelve or twenty  throughout any community; so that it is
easy for any persevering  man to  convince the community,
where he happens  to be,  of the truth of Etheropathy by the
testimony of their  own citizens.  Sometimes it will happen
that the first  persons attempted are found susceptible, and
again  fifty may be  tried in vain.  I find  that  about five in
every six are slightly affected, so that  I can perceive it my-
self, but not more than one in twelve or twenty will manifest
the Credencive experiments perfectly. 
318
RULES  FOR
  17. If a whole audience consents to be tried, the operator
has only to say to them, that if there is any one among them
who is susceptible he will be affected while  the operator is
lecturing, or  doing  something else—and every one in the
room who is both susceptible and rather Credencive will be
affected accordingly.   The success of this experiment de-
pends upon the character of the audience and the tact of the
operator.   It is better to say, that those who are willing to
be inducted may occupy certain  reserved  seats—this will
prevent the rest from  becoming alarmed and leaving the
room.
  18. The success of Credencive experiments is greatly re-
tarded by the presence and hostile conduct of skeptics, and
of proud, imperious and contemptuous persons, or any per-
sons who do not conceal their incredulity.

            EXPERIMENTS IN SOMNAMBULISM.
  19. If the subject seems to be in a high degree suscepti-
ble, so as to be inclined to go to sleep, let him alone awhile,
and  then  ask him  if he is  asleep ;  if he  says that he is
asleep, then he is so; but if not, ask him if he is going to
sleep ; if he says yes, then tell him to go to sleep, and wait
a while longer, then ask him the questions again  as before,
until he says he is asleep.
  20. When the subject is asleep, ask  him concerning his
health and the health of  yourself,  and your peculiar feel-
ings.  Pinch your own hand, and  see if he shrinks as if it
were his OAvn hand.  Taste of something, and ask  him what
he tastes.   Move your features and limbs, and  see  if he
does the same.   Ask him who else is in the room, or who
is in the next room.   If he cannot  answer any of these
questions in a satisfactory manner, he is not in a Clairvoyant
nor sympathetic state.
  21. Tell the subject to open his eyes without waking,
and they will generally do so.  If  the subject is skillful in 
EXPERIMENTS.
319
any thing in his ordinary state, he will be much  more so
now.   He will  sing, or  paint, or  dance, or declaim better
than ever and with less embarrassment; but he  is apt to
become sleepy.   I have found that  such performances are
best when the subject is awake, but under Credencive in-
fluence.
   22.  When you  restore the  subject, look him in the eye,
 and tell him not to have any head-ache, nor tremor, nor
 sickness, nor rheumatism, nor melancholy, &c, and he
 generally will not, as long as the influence remains in any
 degree.

           EXPERIMENTS  UPON  DISEASED PERSONS
   23. If the person to be operated upon is affected with
 some disease, and the object  is to effect a cure, you should
 begin by making  yourself acquainted with the history and
 symptoms of the case, and, if convenient,  consult with a
 physician, before proceeding to induct him.
    24. Get rid, if possible, of all curious and  inquisitive per-
 sons, and  those who have never  seen experiments.  It is
 better still, if you can  have  the room exclusively for the
  use of yourself and your patient.
    25  Whatever effect you wish to produce, tell the patient
  that it will probably be produced,  if he is in a proper state
  of susceptibility  and of conformity.  Tell him not to trouble
  his  mind by trying to be  affected, but to merely keep his
  mind upon the probability that he will.
    26 After having tried fifteen minutes,  if you find  you
  have produced no apparent effect, tell the subject that  you
  have affected him in some degree, and that by repeating the
  operation several times, his debility will be relieved.  For
  it is undoubtedly true, that a healthy person always benefits
  a debilitated one.                                  .
    27  If you find that you have a Credencive con^ol  over
  the  patient, assert that his  disease is cured, or that it is 
320
RULES  FOR
relieved, as  the case may require.  If his disease is local,
make local  passes and applications, and  assert that they
will certainly be efficacious, and they generally will be so.
  28. If the subject is much inducted and under perfect
control, no other medicine is necessary; though the medicine
may be taken if the physician insists upon it, and the oper-
ator can generally modify its effects at his pleasure.
  29. If the patient is but little affected and the influence
acquired is but slight, then medicines must be used as usual;
but the medicines may be inducted in the presence of the
subject, and he himself may be inducted also and told that
the medicines will have a favorable effect,  and they will
actually have a much more beneficial effect than if no such
ceremonies were performed.
  30. Electricity may be  applied to  a slightly inducted
subject and  have  much more effect upon him, to cure him,
than if he is not inducted.
  31. A  Magneto-Electric contrivance is now in use, in
which a current of Electricity is interrupted for an instant,
and then  continued, and then interrupted again, in such a
way as to cause a rapid succession  of slight shocks to be
produced in any  part of the head or body  desired.   This
method of using  Electricity was first introduced in Germa-
ny.  In this country, I believe, the  present most approved
machines were first manufactured and are still made and sold
by Benjamin Pike,  Jr., 294  Broadway, N. Y.  The ma-
chines used by Dr. Sherwood are in imitation of Mr. Pike's.
Dr. Sherwood professes to mesmerize with his machine, but
this is probably an error into which the Dr. has been  led by
effects which were produced by Credencive induction.
  32.  Electricity is often  useful in those cases where  the
nerves have ceased to  perform  their  function  with proper
vigor, and I would advise its use when mesmeric induction
fails to  produce sufficient effect.  It may be used in addition 
EXPERIMENTS.
321
to the  mesmeric  induction, and thus render essential ser-
vice in the hands of a skillful person.
   33. If a subject is Clairvoyant, and in that state gives ad-
vice and  prescribes medicine,  I would recommend you to
apply to  a  physician and get  his consent before following
the direction of the Clairvoyant.
   34. It is my opinion (though I advance it with diffidence)
that Homeopathy produces its  cures by the aid of  Creden-
cive induction ; for it is certain that if a subject is in a very
slight degree  inducted, it requires much  less  medicine to
produce a given effect than when he is in the  normal con-
dition. 
SECTION  XVIII.
      INDUCTION OF  BRUTE ANIMALS.

  It is seldom, if ever, that brute animals can be inducted
so as to present the  phenomena of Etheropathy.  One
reason why they are not as susceptible as man, is, that they
are deficient in Credenciveness ; and this is doubtless also
one  reason why infants  and idiots are rarely as suscepti-
ble as other persons.   We  perceive here the necessity of
making a broad distinction between Credencive induction
and external induction.   Animals, infants and  idiots cannot
be affected by their own Credencive imaginations, as those
of superior intellect often are.  Whenever, therefore, they
are actually affected, it must be by forces actually evolved
from the operator.
  There are so many traditions  and anecdotes relating to the
charming power of serpents, that it scarcely seems fair to
get rid of them by resorting to  a  skeptical  denial of the
authenticity of the statements, especially when they  are
found to harmonize so perfectly with analogous facts in  the
history of man.  Some suppose that the  existence of  the
power ascribed  to  animals, of charming birds,  toads, &c,
is perfectly disproved, because, when  serpents  have  been
confined in cages, they could never  be made  to charm  the
birds which Avere placed near  them for the very purpose.
But it should be remembered, that  among men few try to
exert this power, and few persons among those tried  are
found sufficiently susceptible to manifest that  perfect con-
formity to the will of the  operator, which it is said birds 
BRUTE  ANIMALS.
323
sometimes exhibit when spell-bound  by the  fascination of
the serpent.
  It is  even  supposed  by many, that serpents have the
power to charm human beings; and I can readily admit,
that if it is true that one animal is capable of exerting this
influence over another animal, he might also exert it over
a human being, more especially if the person influenced
actually believed in the power of the serpent.
  Gen.  Morris has  embodied  the spirit, both  of tradition
and philosophy, on this  subject, in  a song which  he  has
introduced into his " Maid of Saxony."

         " When I behold that lowering brow,
            Which indicates the mind within,
          I marvel much  that woman's voav
            A man like that  could ever win.
          Yet, it is said, in rustic bower—
            The fable 1 have often heard—
          A serpent has mysterious power
            To captivate  a timid bird.
         " This moral then I sadly trace,
            That love's a  fluttering thing of air;
          And yonder stands  the viper base
            Who would my timid bird ensnare.
          'Twas in the shade of Eden's bower
            This fascination  had its birth,
          And even there possessed the power
            To lure the paragon of earth."

  Another reason, it may be presumed, why brutes are not
more susceptible, is, that the isolation is more  perfect in
them.   Isolation  is  a principle of all organized  beings,
vegetable and animal, without which they could not main-
tain their independent existence  and  identity  ;  and, like
every other principle which is common to  all organized
beings,  it  is  found in  greater  perfection the lower  we
descend in the scale. 
324
INDUCTION  OF
  I have never tried but one experiment of this kind which
is worth mentioning and that was upon a cat.  I found that
when I put my finger Avithin an inch of  her ear, she  felt it
although I was certain she could not see it, and she made a
motion of the ear as if I had touched it.  It occurred  to me
that this  might be common electricity, with which  these
creatures  are  generally so much  charged.   I also noticed
some very slight movements of the muscles as I passed my
fingers over her limbs without touching them, her eyes be-
ing closed at  the  time.  It  is really worth some  trouble to
ascertain whether brute animals can be decidedly affected ;
I am free  to confess that I am not at present satisfied on this
point.   Mr. Lang has given us some extracts from a work
published in 1839, by^Dr. Wilson, physician to the Middle-
sex Hospital, Eng.,  by which it appears that he has tried
experiments with  a wonderful  patience and  perseverance
upon various animals.   The account  is given with  much
simplicity and apparent honesty,  but  it strikes  me  as ex-
ceedingly ludicrous.   It is  not  easy to  realize  that  he is
perfectly serious in his statements ;  and when we are satis-
fied  that he is quite in earnest, it is equally difficult to avoid
a suspicion that he has allowed himself to  be misled  by his
extraordinary enthusiasm.   His experiments are, however,
quite as rational, if not more so, than those of Dr. Buchanan,
or  Mr. Sunderland, or Mr. Spencer T. Hall.   Mr. Lang
introduces the  extracts from the work of  Dr. Philips with
approbation.   He says,—

  " The Rev. Mr. Townsend, Mr.  Braid and other writers, allude
in general terms to the fact of Mesmerism having been tried on
the brute creation.
  " Dr. Elliotson is reported to have  stated  at a meeting of the
London Phrenological Society, that the Duke of Marlborough had
informed him that while at the Marquis of Ely's seat in  Ireland,
and strolling out in the morning, he came upon a  very ferocious
dog, chained in a farm-yard.  The Duke durst not approach, hut 
BRUTE  ANIMALS.
325
standing at a respectable distance Mesmerized him, and going up,
actually embraced the sleeping animal.
  " Mr. BorroAv, in his fascinating work, ' The Bible in Spain,' re-
lates that he averted in an analogous manner  the attack of a large
dog which flew at him.
  " The only regular series of experiments on brutes, of which,
so far as we are aware, any account has been given to the  Avorld,
were those performed by Dr. Wilson, physician to the Middlesex
Hospital.  As  Dr.  Wilson's Avork*  is but  ltttle known  among
general readers, we trust it is unnecessary to make  any apology
for drawing  pretty largely upon its pages.  Dr. Wilson states,
that having applied  Mesmerism with the most  beneficial effects
upon several of his patients, he nevertheless  felt himself restrained
from proceeding further, and was induced by various considera-
tions to institute some experiments, with the view of ascertaining
what effects could be produced by it upon the brute creation.  He
goes on to say :—
   " 'My first experiments on  animals were  made on cats, but as
 they were more or less connected with the  cases of my patients
 which I have not  entered upon  here, I may briefly notice  that
 many experiments were made on four cats and kittens, at intervals,
 from the 16th May to the  3d October, 1838, and each of them
 was put to sleep at the first trial; and ultimately I was able to put
 first one and then another to sleep,  and at the end to leave three
 sleeping together, being as many as could ordinarily be  brought
 together at once.
   « <One of these, a torn, the first of them that was magnetised, and
 on Avhich that operation had  been  most frequently  repeated, be-
 came easily and strongly influenced by them,  so that he has been
 pulled about, lifted up by the nape of the neck, and  the ears tick-
 led Avith a pen, during which he would remain motionless, and the
 cat Avas then said to be in a state of catalepsy ; sometimes when
 lifted up by the head or tail, the eyes might partially open without
 the limbs moving, and when dropped down, the eyes again closed,
 and he continued  to sleep, without making any effort  to  move
 from the place where he had been dropped.

    * Trials of Animal Magnetism on the Brute Creation.  Ey John
  Wilson, Physician to the Middlesex Hospital.  London: Sherwood,
  Gilbert and Piper;  1839. 
326
INDUCTION  OF
   "' My other experiments at the following places were not carried
 to the same extent, as I was generally satisfied to cease the opera-
 tions as soon as sleep came on.'
   " Dr. Wilson's work is in the form of a journal, from which we
 proceed to extract as folloAvs:—
   " 'September 26,1838.—White Will, a torn cat, age about a year.
 Kitty, a female cat, tortoise-shell, eight months.   Fuzzy, a female
 cat, French, two months.  Vick, a female terrier, six months.
   "' Made the passes on Kitty and Fuzzy, on my lap, both for the
 first time, and both were put to sleep in about a quarter of an hour.
   " ' September 28.—Magnetised Fuzzy and Vick on the hearth-rug.
 Both were put to sleep in five minutes, and both slept an hour and
 a half; being  the first trial on Vick and  the  second on Fuzzy.
 Afterwards White Will was magnetised on the rug ;  in about  ten
 minutes or more he was put to sleep, and Vick coming in the way
 and annoying  White Will, 1 directed the passes towards her at  the
 same time that I was acting on White Will, and  again, after  be-
 coming very irritable, and biting the fender, she was put to sleep.
 Both awoke on some one coming into the room.
   " 'The same morning I made passes on a drake and three ducks.
 They were difficult of approach  at first, but they soon  became
 quiet, and allowed themselves to  be acted on in a mass,  with  my
 hands quite close to their heads ;  at other times they became  very
 restless, struggled, and bit each other's necks, and tried to escape,
 as it were, from the passes;  the  wings of all,  but  those of  the
 drake in particular, made convulsive twitchings as the hand moved
 over them. One or two became apparently drowsy, eyes half closed,
 and sat down  two or three times. One  or two yawned at different
 times.  The time occupied was  about  half an hour, when 1 Avas
 obliged to go away.
   " ' About a month after  the  last passes were made one of  the
 ducks died ; and a fortnight after that the drake died. The cause
 of their deaths was not known.   They  did not die suddenly,  but
 were said to have pined away gradually.
   " ' October 19.—Had a dozen fish, (roach,  dace, gudgeons and
 loach,) from one to three ounces in weight, caught  in the Thames
 this morning.   Passes being made on them when in a large tub of
water, they soon came to the top of the water, put their noses out,
and allowed me to touch their heads, stroke them down the backs, 
BRUTE  ANIMALS.
327
and pop their heads under  the water, when they came to the top
again immediately, and, instead of seeming afraid of the motion of
my hand, they appeared more desirous of getting near to it than
avoiding it.
  " ' October 29.—Put a Bantam cock with a Bantam hen under the
cage, near  to a she-goat, eighteen months old, when William and
I both made passes together, and  separately, for more than half an
hour before the goat was put to sleep, and then only slightly. The
cock  at first chuckled, and made much noise;  then he became
quiet, and remained so ; sometimes sat down and closed his eyes ;
but towards the end he stood upright for a considerable time like a
statue, and neither moved head nor foot;  and when the cage was
taken away, he moved not in the least, allowed  me to touch and
pull his comb and gills, and  to stroke him down without making
the least movement of his feet, head, or neck.  As night Avas com-
ing on, he was brought in* and  placed before  the  kitchen fire,
where there Avere dogs near  to him, and the same teasing means
Avere repeated with like results, when he began to evince sensation
and  motion by degrees, and finally aroused up, and clawed my
hands.  The hen Avas somewhat  similarly affected, but in  a much
less marked manner.   It will  be  observed that it was about their
roosting time.
  " ' October 28.—At twelve o'clock, made passes at a distance on
a wild, fierce, Chinese gander and a common goose, and they grad-
ually alloAved me to approach them though  they were at  large iu
the farm-yard;  and Avhen  the gander  let me come up to him to
make the passes close along his head and neck, his neck quivered
obedient to the passes, which quiverings I stopped and renewed at
pleasure.   I could touch and stroke his head and neck as I wished :
he remained a quarter of an hour erect, with his head raised in the
air, and never, during that time, once moved a foot.  He frequently
gaped during the whole time, as well as the goose; and, when he
seemed most susceptible, kept continually uttering a sort of plain-
tive noise as the passes were made.
  '< ' The goose made no noise.   At last 1 directed the passes from
the head of the gander to the head of the goose, and then the goose's
neck quivered :  it lay  down several times, held its head down, and
put it under some wood, while I continued the passes down its neck. 
328
INDUCTION  OF
I did not notice  its eyes being closed.   The gander never lay
down.'
  " The folloAving experiments Avere made at a third station   The
notes, at the time of trying to affect two pigs of a large breed, were
drawn up, Dr. Wilson states, by a spectator :—
  " ' July 21,1838.—The pigs were about nine months old, healthy,
fat  and very lively.  The  sty in which they Avere confined  con-
sisted of  two parts—a small oblong court uncovered, and an inner
sty roofed, and partly boarded in front.   They were  magnetised
across the outer court into the inclosed  sty, at the door of which
they presented their heads ; about half an hour after, they began
to sweat about the ears and, neck, and  to utter  a peculiar shrill
plaintive squeak.   After  being operated  upon for about an hour,
one of them lay down ;  and the other, though standing, suffered
the operator to enter the inner sty, and magnetise them quite close,
without their being disturbed.'
   " The folloAving experiments were made in the Zoological Gar-
dens, Surrey, on two Ceylon elephants, male and female, Rajah and
Hadgee,  each about ten  years old,  and both kept together in the
same stall.
   " ' March 13, 1839.—Began the passes, along the head  and trunk
 (proboscis) of the female elephant, Hadgee, as she stood ; in about
five minutes she curved her trunk, previous to raising her head, to
strike me with the trunk ; which the keeper noticing, warned me
 of what  she was preparing to do, so that afterwards I kept at a
 distance where she could not hit me Avith her trunk, though several
 times she attempted to do so, by raising her head and lashing out
 her trunk at the same  time.  Twice she  turned  her back on me,
 but I continued the passes.  Once she struck her hind-leg out to-
 wards me ; she  also yawned several times :  the striking her trunk
 out, with the design of hitting a stranger, was unusual with her.
 Time of operation, a quarter of  an  hour, when, strangers coming
 in, it was discontinued.
   " ' Then I went to see the other wild beasts fed, but  found that
 they had already  begun feeding.   As I stopped  before a lioness,
 lying down tearing a half devoured  joint, which she held between
 her paws, and growling at me, I began making passes towards her
 head ;  she very soon, almost immediately, ceased eating, grasped
 the joint between her jaws, and ceased growling ; her eyes began 
BRUTE   ANIMALS.              32$
to twinkle, and  soon closed at times, for short intervals;  when
.some strangers came up, and asked me how it was that I seemed
to affect  the  lioness.   I  gave them an evasive reply, in hopes of
their going away, and ceased the passes, but held my hands out a
little towards her, as she continued in the same position; but her
•eyes were  much less closed than when I made the passes.   After
these visitors went, I reneAved the passes; when  other visitors
came, and  again I ceased, and held my hands out steadily before
me ; she then got up and walked about, and then lay down again.
As  the company remained standing  there, I ceased  all trials and
retired, as the lioness began to tear the joint, after having retained
ft full tAventy minutes in her mouth, without once relaxing hold of
 it.'
   " After  giving the details of several experiments, Dr. Wilson
concludes—
   " ' No further trials Avere made on the elephants and other wild
 beasts, from my unAvillingness to carry the experiments beyond  a
 certain point; for I had no means of judging what the consequences
 mighUbe,  should  such animals as the elephants, and other beasts^
 after repetitions of Magnetism, get into the irritable stage, or should
 they, after being put to sleep, pass into the state of somnamhulisra
 or delirium.'"
15 
 
APPENDIX.
           EXPRESSIONS  OE  OPINION.

                          Union College, October 23,  1844.
Prof. J. Stanley Grimes :
  Dear Sir—At the conclusion of your lectures, just  delivered
before  a portion of the students of this  Institution, a meeting o
the class Avas duly organized, and the following resolutions were
adopted, as expressive of their sentiments in  reference  to  your
lectures.

  Resolved, That we have listened with deep interest  and the
highest satisfaction, to the series of lectures on  the  Philosophy of
Mesmerism, just  delivered before us by Mr. Grimes, and that we
unanimously concur in tendering to him this  testimony of our
approbation and respect.

  Resolved, That  the experiments delivered  before us, have with-
out exception been of  such a  character—the  subjects being our
fellow students and classmates, known to us to  be men of intelli-
gence, firmness, and Christian integrity—as to forbid a doubt of the
facts, and  leave us not the slightest ground for skepticism.

  Resolved, That  so far as Ave are competent to judge, the theory
of Mesmerism, as presented by Mr. Grimes, is not only novel and
excitingly  interesting,  but in  perfect accordance with  admitted
principles of science.

  Resolved, That  should Mr. Grimes, as we/ understand  it  is his 
332
APPENDIX.
intention to  do, publish to the world his views upon this subject,
we believe  they will  meet with that favor from  the  public, and
from men of science in particular, Avhich, in our judgment at least,
their present novely demands.
  Resolved, That wherever Mr. Grimes may go, Ave would respect-
fully solicit for him a  candid hearing from an  enlightened public,
feeling assured that their experience Avill accord with our OAvn,
and prejudice give place to conviction, and skepticism to confirmed
belief.
   Resolved,  That a copy of these resolutions  be presented to Mr.
Grimes, to be used according to his discretion.
                   A. NEWKIRK LITTLEJOHN, Chairman.
Report on the Phrenological Classification of J. Stanley Grimes.
  By E. N. Horsford, Professor of Natural History and Mathema-
  tics in the Albany Female Academy.  Adopted by the Albany Phre-
  nological Society, September 3, 1840.
  " The committee to whom was referred the letter of Mr. Grimes,
requesting an examination of his classification, as exhibited in his
" New System of Phrenology," and a  comparison of it with the
classification of Dr. Spurzheim, beg leave to submit the following
Report :—
  " The importance of arranging the principles of a science in ac-
cordance with the laws of natural relationship, has been recognized
from the days of the earliest philosophers to the present time.  It
has  been  acknowledged in astronomy, geology,  and the other
branches of natural science.  The productions of the great men in
these several departments of investigation are the monuments of a
desire to improve and  perfect classification.  A like feeling has
been manifested by  writers upon the powers of the mind.  Suc-
ceeding generations, enlightened  by discoveries,  and quickened
thereby to the perception of defects in previous systems, attempted
improvements ; and the whole history of mental philosophy, from
Pythagoras to the commencement of the last century, is but little
more than the record of changes in nomenclature and arrangement
of the attributes of mind.
  " The actual discovery of twenty-six of the fundamental facul- 
APPENDIX.
333
ties of the mind, and  the organs through which they manifested
themselves, was the first great step toAvards a proper classification.
But the life of Dr. Gall was too short for the labor of founding and
perfecting a science. Although he speaks oi propensities, mechanical
aptitudes, intellectual dispositions, and moral qualities; yet, besides
the record of his invaluable discoveries, he has left us little more
than a simple arrangement of the powers.  In this he seems to have
been guided merely by the relative position of the organs, commen-
cing at the base, and proceeding regularly to the top. Accordingly,
Amativeness is placed first, and Firmness last; while Cautiousness
and Educability (Individuality and Eventuality of Spurzheim,) are
associated together.  Dr. Gall maintained that  all the faculties
have the same modes of action ; and that a separation of them into
tAvo orders, founded upon their different modes of action, could not
be  made.  Dr. Spurzheim, hoAvever, guided  by the  accumulated
opinions of philosopheis Avho had gone before him, was enabled to
recognize two distinct classes of  powers; and the  two  orders of
Affective and Intellectual Facultifs proposed by him, have
received the sanction of the greater portion of the phrenological
Avorld.   Dr.  Spurzheim maintained  that  perception, memory, and
imagination, are attributes of the Intellect, and that  the affective
faculties  have  sensation  alone.   These  views were rejected by
Gall.  Dr. Spurzheim divided the Affective Faculties into Propen-
sities, or those  internal impulses Avhich invite to certain actions,
and Sentiments, which, besides  inviting to  certain actions, are
attended when active by a  peculiar emotion.
   The  Intellectual Faculties he subdivided  into four genera: the
external senses ;  the faculties Avhich perceive existence and physi-
cal qualities  ; those Avhich  perceive the relations of external ob-
jects ; and the reflecting faculties.  The  folloAving is Dr.  Spurz-
heim's classification, as drawn out in Mr. Combe's last Avork.

                   ORDER I.— FEELINGS.
                    GENUS I.--PROPENSITIES.
     1. Amativeness,                6. Destructiveness,
     2. Philoprogenitiveness,        *  Alimentiveness,
     3. Concentrativeness, or In-    t  Love of Life,
          habitiveness,              7.  Secretiveness,
      4. Adhesiveness,               8.  Acquisitiveness,
      5. Combativeness,              9-  Constructiveness. 
334
APPENDIX.
                  GENUS II.--SENTIMENTS.
       I.  Sentiments common to man with lower animals.
   10. Self-esteem,                12. Cautiousness,
   11. Approbativeness,
                II.  Sentiments proper to man.
   13. Benevolence,               18. Wonder,
   14. Veneration,                19. Ideality,
   15. Firmness,                  20. Mhthfulness,
   16. Conscientiousness,         21. Imitation.
   17 Hope,
        ORDER  II.—INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES.
                 GENUS I.—EXTERNAL SENSES.
    Feeling, or Touch,             Hearing,
    Taste,                        Sight.
    Smell,
             GENUS  II.--INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES,
          Wliich perceive existence and physical qualities.
   22. Individuality,               25.  Weight,
   23. Form,                      26.  Coloring.
   24. Size,
            GENUS III.--INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES,
           Which perceive relations of external objects.
   27.  Locality,                   31.  Time,
   28.  Number,                   32.  Tune,
   29. Order,                      33.  Language.
   30.  Eventuality,
              GENUS IV.--REFLECTING FACULTIES.
   34.  Comparison,                35.  Causality.

  In expressiug an opinion upon the merits of  this classification,
the committee feel deeply the responsibility of their situation.  The
Avork of a profoundly analytical  mind  is before them ; and with
scarcely an alteration, it has received the sanction of the most dis-
tinguished advocates of the science, in Britain, France and America.
It is the standard classification; it is one of the many monuments
of a distinguished genius, and we  are  bound  to revere it.   The
committee are  also  aware, that the ultimate functions of all  the
powers are not yet established, and that there is still a broad field 
APPENDIX.
335
for discovery.  Nevertheless, the following quotations from Spurz-
heim and Combe, shoAv not only their own consciousness of im-
perfections in this classification, but appear  to point out to us the
path we should pursue.  ' If,'  says Spurzheim, ' under any head
of the nomenclature, there  be a better name  than I employ,  *   *
   *  *  I shall be glad to use it; for I am ahvays disposed  to ac-
knowledge truth, and obey real improvement.'   ' It appears im-
possible,'  says Mr. Combe,  ' to arrive at  a correct classification
until  all the organs, and  also  the primitive faculty or ultimate
function of each, shall be definitely ascertained, which is  not at
present the  case.  Till this end shall be accomplished, every in-
terim arrangement will be  in danger of being overturned by  subse-
 quent discoveries.'
   " From these remarks, the duty of pointing out defects, that in
 the very nature of things belong to progressive  science, when ne-
 cessary to the exhibition of improvement, becomes abundantly ap-
 parent.                         .
   « Dr. Spurzheim's first  division into Intellectual and Affective
 Faculties, is the link by which phrenology is attached to the men-
 tal philosophy of the old school.   His division of the affective fac-
 ulties into propensities and sentiments,  nearly  corresponds with
 Brown's  Prospective and Immediate  Emotions.   It is based upon
 a conceived difference in their attributes.   « Propensities,"  Spurz-
 heim remarks, " invite only to certain actions ;" but sentiments are
 not limited  to inclination alone; " they have an emotion of a pe-
 culiar kind superadded."  After  comparing the views of  writers
 who have recognized this distinction with the actual manifestations
 of the affective powers, the committee are unable  to believe that
 grounds for this division  exist.  Each of these faculties has  its own
  sphere of action, but some of  the spheres are higher than others
  Philoprogenitiveness  has its nursery;  Adhesiveness is  limited
  circle of friends;  and Benevolence, the entire world.  Ahmentiv  -
  ness impels attention to  the wants  of the nutritive ^Cau-
  tiousness induces general guardianship over  bo h the jorporea




   as the spheres in which they act. 
336
APPENDIX.
   " Now that, to Benevolence and the group of poAvers Avith which
it is associated, this attribute should be extended, Avhile  to Adhe-
siveness and the Avhole genus of animal propensities it  is  denied,
is considered a position unfounded in nature.
   " The subdivision into sentiments common to  man and the low-
er animals  and those proper to man,  is very  clearly   defective.
Spurzheim  has given draAvings showing that some dogs and horses
have  a  developement  of Benevolence; and  Gall  remarked that
lions were  more full in the region of  this organ than  tigers.  Imi-
tation is admitted by Spurzheim  to be  a faculty of some of the
monkey tribe; and Mr. Combe remarks, that  the organ is found
in the brains of both parrots and  monkeys.  It has  also been sug-
gested, that the proverbial stubbornness of asses has its  source in
Firmness.  These  examples show that the last division, though  it
may be convenient, is not strictly philosophical.  In  the  genus
animal  propensities, Spurzheim  has classed  together poAvers, at
least as little associated as are the superior and inferior sentiments.
Alimentiveness, a faculty related  exclusively to  the individual, is
placed beside Amativeness and  Philoprogenitiveness, which are
clearly related to the species. In the arrangement of the intellectual
faculties, Language,* one of the lowest organs, and  one which, ac-
cording to Bessieres, becomes fibrous immediately  after  Individu-
ality and Form, is elevated to a place directly below the reflectives.
  " Mr. Grimes' classification, as presented in his ' New System of
Phrenology,' retains Spurzheim's  first division of the poAvers of the
mind under the heads of Propensities and Intellectual Facul-
ties.  The  Propensities he  divides into two classes, which  he
denominates Ipseal and Social.  He denies the distinction between
propensities and sentiments maintained by Spurzheim.  His classi-
fication follows:—
                         CLASS I.
            Ipseal, or Self-Relative Propensities.

                         CLASS II.
          Social,  or Society-Relative Propensities.

                         CLASS III.
      Intellectual, or Knowledge-Relative Faculties.
* I consider this the organ of Sound. 
APPENDIX.                 337
                  CLASS I.—IPSEALS.
                   1. Corporeal Range.
    1.  Pneumativeness,             3. Sanativeness.
    2.  Alimentiveness,
                  2. Carnivorous Range
    4.  Destructiveness,             5. Combativeness.
                  3. Herbivorous Range.
    6.  Secretiveness,               7. Cautiousness.
                   4. Rodentia Range.
    8.  Constructiveness,            9. Acquisitiveness.
                     5. Human Range.
   10.  Playfulness,               12. Hopefulness.
   11.  Perfectiveness,

                  CLASS II.- SOCIALS.
                   Establishing Group.
    1.  Amativeness,               3. Inhabitiveness,
    2.  Parentiveness,              4. Adhesiveness.
                     Governing Group.
    5.  Imperativeness,             7. Firmness,
    6. Approbativeness,            8. Conscientiousness.
                    Conforming Group.
    9. Submissiveness,            11. Imitativeness,
   10. Kindness,                 12. Credenciveness.

              CLASS 111.—INTELLECTUALS.
                      Lower Range.
     1. Individuality,               5. Size,
     2. Chemicality,               6. Weight,
     3. Language,                 7- Color,
     4. Form,                     8- 0rder'
                        9. Number.
                      Middle Range.
    10. Direction,                  12- Time'
    11. Eventuality,               13- Tune-
                       Upper Range.
    14. Comparison,               15- Causality.

  « This division into three classes, Ipseal, Social ni  Intellectual,
is founded," says the author, '' upon the following considerations :
                     15* 
338                  APPENDIX.
  " ' First.  Anatomy points to three grand divisions.
  " ' 1. The spinal cord is  in three columns, anterior, middle and
posterior ; and  Mr. Charles Bell demonstrated  that all the nerves
which  proceed  from one column are destined to perform one class
of functions.  The nerves from the anterior column are for volition;
those from the middle for respiration aud nutrition ;  and those from
the posterior for sensation.
  "' 2. The medulla oblongata, Mr. Bell considered as  a continua-
tion of the same three columns of  the spinal cord.   It has three
bodies,
         The pyramidal, in the anterior ;
         The olivary, in the middle, and
         The restiform in the posterior column.
  " ' 3. The brain has ahvays been divided into three lobes—ante-
rior, middle and posterior—and the division may be found strongly
marked in the brains of all the higher animals.   Spurzheim found
by dissection, that the fibres of the anterior pyramidal bodies of the
oblongata expanded into and constituted the anterior lobes of the
brain.   And he contended that the middle and posterior lobes orig-
inated  in the other two parts of the oblongata.
  " ' 4. Each hemisphere,has a great lateral ventricle, and this ven-
tricle presents an appearance which has been denominated tricornes,
or three horns—anterior, middle and posterior."
  " '5. In a note which  the committee have received from  Mr.
Grimes, it is said  that Spurzheim considered the  spinal  cord as
having three  commissures,  anterior, middle and  posterior.  And
also, that the functions of the body are subdivided by some phy-
siologists into three classes.  Richard divides them into those that
relate to the individual, those that relate to  the species, and those
that relate to the acquisition of knowledge.
  " ' Second. The natural  history of animals is  all in  harmony
with this classification.
  " ' 4.  The three powers,  viz. Amativeness,  Alimentiveness and
Individuality, which constitute the foundation of the three classes,
are manifested  by all animals.  No  animal, hoAvever low in the
scale of beings, is destitute of these three.
  Theorgans'of these powers are found in the very base of the brain.
     Amativeness  at the loAvest posterior ;
    Alimentiveness at the lowest  middle, and
    Individuality in the centre of the lowest front part of the brain. 
APPENDIX.
339
  « '  3.  In the social class, if  Ave begin at Amativeness, we find
it manifested by all animals.  If we proceed upward and fonvard,
according to the arrangement of the powers, until Ave arrive  at
Credenciveness, we  shall trace the progress of society, from its
very lowest stage-, up through every grade of animals, to its high-
est perfection in the most polished circles of human society.
  " ' In the  Ipseal class, if Ave commence at Alimentiveness, Ave
sea it manifested  by all  animals ; and if Ave proceed upward, ac-
cording to  the arrangement of  the poAvers, we find the first and
second ranges of  Ipseals manifested by the lowest classes of ani-
mals ; the  third  range  is manifested  by  the  higher  and more
sagacious animals ;  and  the fourth range is fully manifested only
in man,  and in his brain only is it found fully developed.
   " ' In the" intellectual class, if we commence at Individuality, Ave
see it manifested  by the very  lowest animals ! and if we proceed
upwards, according  to the arrangement of the powers, Ave shall
 perceive that the organs rise and expand out  of  each other, in a
 manner strictly  agreeing Avith  the  progressive  intelligence  of
 animals; Causality, the  highest of this class, being manifested in
 a vigorous and efficient manner only by man, the very highest and
 most complicated of organized beings.
   « ' Third. 1.  The Ipseal propensities produce those actions only
 Avhich have for their object the nourishment, protection, improve-
 ment and happiness of the individual.
    «  ' 2. The Social propensities originate those actions only, Avhich
 have for their object, the production,  the establishment, and the
 government of society,  and conformity to its useful regulations.
    » ' 3. The intellectual faculties acquire knowledge, and point out
  the means by which the propensities may be gratified.'
    « The considerations which Mr. Grimes has presented in sup-
  port of his division of the cerebral organs into three classes are of
  three kinds:—Anatomical  Structure,  Natural History  of
  Animals, and Analysis  of the Mental Powers.  Of these, the
  committee  have  been unable to perceive the value which Mr
  Grimes seems  to attach to  the anatomical facts.  As a class of
  truths they harmonize with  this classification, and may therefore
  be  said to lend  it some support; but alone they must  be regarded
  as far from contributing sufficient  ground for this division    Ine
  occurrence of the fundamental organs of each class at the base of 
340                  .APPENDIX.
the brain, and the regular gradation of the poAvers, from Amative-
ness to Credenciveness, through the socials ;  from Alimentiveness
to Hopefulness, through  the Ipseals ; and from  Individuality  to
Causality, through the Intellectuals, corresponding Avith the suc-
cession of animals in the scale of beings, from the  lowest orders
up to man, are certainly in beautiful harmony with, and go to sus-
tain the  last and  most important  consideration  upon which the
classification rests.   In the analysis, Mr. Grimes shows that all the
powers of each class perform certain specific functions that have a
generic character in common. All the powers of the Ipseal class are
related to the individual, those of the  Social class to society, and
those of the Intellectual class to knowledge.  He also shows that
each of the powers of the several groups in each class have a sub-
generic character in common. The first four socials, Amativeness,
Parentiveness,  Adhesiveness and  Inhabitiveness, have  for their
object the continuation of the species and the establishment of so-
ciety; those of the governing group, Imperativeness, Approbative-
ness, Firmness and Conscientiousness, have for their object the main-
tenance of government in society t and the administration of justice;
those of the conforming group, Submissiveness, Kindness, fmitative-
ness and Credenciveness, have for their object the perfection of so-
ciety, by "obedience to government, condescension and kindness to
all  our  associates, and  conformity to their manners, habits and
opinions."   In the Ipseal  class he shows,  that the poAvers of the
corporeal range are related to the nourishment and preservation of
the body; that those of the carnivorous range are  most strongly
manifested in the animals that feed upon flesh, and procure it by
the destruction of life;  that Cautiousness in the herbivorous range
characterizes the peace-seeking, ruminating animals ;* that those
of the rodentia range distinguish the whole order of animals to
which the  beaver and squirrel belong;  that those of the human
range are fully developed only in  man.   He  makes  Playfulness
the link  in the Ipseal chain, which connects man with the lower
animals ; the other organs of this range being exclusively human.
He shows that men  who  have a developemeut  corresponding
  * Secretiveness is thought by Mr.  Grimes to distinguish the Herbi-
vora.  It is also manifested  in a high degree by the Carnivora. The
essential  question, however, is whether the associated organs perform
analogous functions. 
APPENDIX.
341
Avith that of animals belonging to either the carnivora, herbivora,
or rodentia, are, so far as their Ipseal character is concerned, en-
stamped with the dispositions peculiar to the carnivorous, herbi-
vorous, or gnaAving animals.  The Intellectual class, Avith the ex-
ception of a  division into ranges, he  considers as  a Avhole,  and
treats the organs in their order of succession,  commencing at In-
dividuality, and proceeding  through the first and second ranges of
perceptives to the reflectives.
  " From this hasty vieAv of the principal systems of arrangement
among the powers of the mind which have hitherto received at-
tention, the committee pass  to the more direct  comparison of the
classification of Mr. Grimes with that of Dr. Spurzheim.  In doing
this, it may be  well to  notice some of the principles of classifica-
tion in  nature,  since correspondence  with them  can  alone  give
perpetuity to any system, and since they constitute the only true
standard  of merit.   Among those which, in  phrenology, are
obviously important, may be enumerated the folloAving:
  " I.  PoAvers  immediately related in functional character should
be arranged in the same division.
   " II.  Powers not  directly  related,  but differing  in attributes,
should be arranged in different  divisions.
  " III.  The order of succession of the organs anatomically con-
sidered, and the relationship of the powers according to metaphy-
sical analysis, should harmonize with  each other.
  " If a, classification  is defective  Avhen Ariewed in the light of
either of  these  principles, it  is manifestly imperfect; and  that
classification against Avhich, Avhen tested by these  principles,  there
are found fewest objections, is the'most perfect.
  " In noticing Spurzheim's  classification, it Avas observed  that
Language, manifestly low in the  scale of perceptives—inasmuch
as it is possessed by almost every individual of the animal king-
dom, and the organ of which  is at the very base  of the brain—is
ranked next to the reflectives.    It was also seen, that Alimentive-
ness, a  propensity related  wholly to  the individual, is associated
Avith  Amativeness and  Philoprogenitiveness,  which  are beyond
question related to the species.  He  has placed in separate sub-
divisions,   Adhesiveness,   Approbativeness  and  Benevolence,
making  the first an animal  propensity  proper,  the second an
affective power common to man and animals, and the last a power 
342
APPENDIX.
proper to man.   While it is plain that Adhesiveness characterizes
man, even in his higher walks, as  much as  animals, and more so
than most, and that Approbativeness, though common to man and
some animals, cannot be claimed  to be possessed by all inferior
creatures, it is equally plain, from facts adduced by Gall, Spurzheim
and Combe, that Benevolence distinguishes several orders  of lower
animals.  This  view leaves the alternative of regarding those in-
stances Avhere animals present a development of the powers not in
conformity  Avith the classification as exceptions to a  general rule,
or as considering the lines of distinction as improperly drawn. As
no arrangement like the above is proposed by Mr Grimes, none of
the above objections apply with force to his classification.
  " Since the authors of the classification before us draw the  same
line, and give it the same direction betAveen the intellectual facul-
ties and the affective faculties, or propensities, the further  question
of relative merit resolves itself into the folloAving inquiries.
  "1. Is the distinction between  sentiments and  propensities
maintained by Spurzheim, founded in nature ?
  " 2. If it be  not founded in nature, are all the powers of the
Ipseal class according to Grimes, related  to the individual; and
are all the poAvers of the  Social class related to society ?
  " 1. Combe says in his remarks upon what distinguish sentiments
from  propensities,  that  ' Acquisitiveness is  a mere impulse to
acquire ; but Veneration gives a tendency to worship, accompanied
with a particular emotion.'   Acquisitiveness is made  the represen-
tative of all the animal propensities, and Veneration of the moral
sentiments  ; and the argument based upon them is applied to the
tAvo genera.
  It is true that the evidence here to be adduced is_in Conscious-
ness, and  therefore may perhaps  be thought difficult to  present;
but as the laAvs of the mind are immutable, and as the germ  of ev-
ery mental power  is possessed by every sound  mind,  it may be
fairly presumed that testimony upon a point of such importance is
not altogether shut out from vieAv.  Let there be taken  Firmness
from  the moral  sentiments, and Combativeness from the animal
propensities.   When the former is in action, the possessor feels an
impulse to resist the influence of others, and to maintain any position
he may have assumed—a tendency to fixedness—and this feeling
or  impulse is called an emotion.  When  the latter is aroused, the 
APPENDIX.
343
possessor feels an impulse to oppose Avhatever may be in his path-
way.   Now betAveen the two, is there any difference beyond  the
particular character of the attribute ?  Is there any thing amounting
to a superaddition ?   If there be not, this distinction of Spurzheim
is without existence  in nature.
  2. Are all  the powers of the  Ipseal class, according to Grimes,
related to the individual, and those of the Social class to society ?
In other language, it may be asked, could each poAver of the Ipseal
class be brought into legitimate exercise, though the Avhole species
besides the individual were annihilated—and could any of the So-
cial class be legitimately exercised Avithout the being of society ?
  A detailed reply to these interrogatories would involve an analy-
sis  of all the poAvers of the two classes, a task whose execution it
cannot be conceived could  be brought within the limits of this re-
port.
  That  these two generic  functions are respectively characteristic
of  the two classes, it may be remarked, is not denied,  since Car-
michael and  Besseires have admitted its truth among the lower
powers of the two classes, though they were unable to perceive its
extension through the whole.   From a careful examination of the
analyses, the ground of distinction between  the two classes, and
their  limits seem to be well established.  The subdivisions of the
two classes appear among  the obvious arrangements of nature. Of
the Ipseals, the corporeal range  has relation clearly to the demands
of  the physical system.  So nearly allied in function are  Comba-
tiveness and Destructiveness, that the language of their respective
analyses almost seems to be applicable to a single power.  No  two,
in  many respects, appear  so nearly related  as Secretiveness and
 Cautiousness;  and  the propriety of associating Acquisitiveness
 and Constructiveness is obvious, for the hoarding of possessions de-
 mands a place of reception.  The powers of the last range, accord-
 ing to Mr. Grimes' analyses, appear all related to the improvement
 and the perfection of the individual; they seem  to point  to higher
 and nobler spheres  of action than any of the preceding ranges, and
 are therefore justly separated from the lower powers.
    Of the Socials, all the powers of the establishing group have the
  distinguishing generic character expressed in the name under which
  they are arranged.   This  remark is equally true of the governing
  and  the confopning groups. 
344
APPENDIX.
  While the division of the powers into  three classes, and their
subdivision into ranges and groups, may  be considered important
and useful, the distinguishing feature, and that Avhich  to the com-
mittee constitutes the highest merit  of the new classification, con-
sists in this, that it traces the chain of functional relationship, from
the lowest organ to the highest of each class.
  If Mr. Grimes' classification is founded  in nature, the following
are some of the advantages  Avhich  may be  expected from  its
adoption.

  1. It will facilitate the application of phrenological principles in
deciding upon character from an examination of the head.  Upon
noticing the predominance  of one class of  organs, it may be said of
the individual thus marked, he is Ipseal, Social, or Intellectual;
or, upon observing tAvo classes prevailing over the third, it may be
said, he is  Ipseal and  Intellectual, or Social and Intellectual, or
both Ipseal and Social.  The same principle Avill be applicable in
speaking of the developement of one group, or  of two groups of the
Socials, and also of the ranges of Ipseals and Intellectuals.  The
effects of a  combined  developement  of  particular groups in  the
different classes will be more readily understood.
  2. It  will aid analysis, in ascertaining the ultimate  function of
each organ.   Upon knoAving its position, and the relation it sus-
tains to others—with  what organ it Avould probably act,  and
whether in the centre of a class, or joined to organs of other classes,
its manifestations Avill be more readily perceived, and more clearly
comprehended.
  3. It will aid in discovery, by directing the eyes of all phre-
nologists to limited regions of the brain,  when in search for  the
seat of  a  faculty, in whose existence they have been induced to
believe.  For example, if the seat of a supposed poAver related to
corporeal wants be sought, the  attention will be directed to  de-
velopements  and  deficiencies  in  the corporeal range.   If  the
function of the organ occupying the region marked upon  the bust
of Mr. Combe as unknown, be the object of discovery, several aids
Avill be afforded.  It must, in the  first place, be either Ipseal or
Social;  and in the  second  place, it must be either a Social of  the
conforming group,  or an Ipseal of the human  range.
  4. It will furnish phrenology Avith new claims to the character 
APPENDIX.
345
of an established science;  and by its  simplicity  and consistency,
Avill induce the student to pursue its  investigation with the same
kind of satisfaction that now attends his study of the older sciences.

  In conclusion,  the  committee state, that distrusting their own
abilities to discharge the  duties assigned them, they entered  into
correspondence upon  the  question to be determined Avith several
phrenological writers.  They have also examined all the published
works relating to the subject Avhich  they could command.  And
with these materials before them, after weighing the Avhole matter,
the result is the opinion, that the classification of Mr. Grimes is a
decided improvement, as it arranges the powers of the mind more
nearly in accordance with the Jaws of natural relationship than
any of the systems Avhich have preceded it.
     N                       E. N. HORSFORD,
                                 Chairman of Committee on
                                        Grimes' Classification.
  " At the close of Mr. Grimes'  lectures, delivered in  the Chapel
of the Albany Female Academy, the class organized by appointing
Charles D. ToAvnsend, M.D., Chairman, and Thomas W. Olcott,
Esq., Secretary.   Whereupon Henry Green, M. D., introduced the
folloAving resolutions, Avhich Avere unanimously adopted.
  » Resolved, That we have listened Avith exciting  interest to the
Lectures of Mr. Grimes, President of the Phrenological Society of
Buffalo, on the science of phrenology.
  " Resolved That we believe Mr. Grimes has made new and im-
portant discoveries in Phrenology; that  his  arrangement of the
brain into three classes of organs, viz :-the Ipseal, Social and In-
tellectual, together with  their subdivisions into ranges or groups
is founded in nature, the anatomy of  the  brain,  and the natural
gradation of animals as they rise in the scale of being.
  « Resolved, That we are  forced to believe that   Phrenology, as
taueht bv Mr. Grimes, may be learned by persons of ordinary m-
 dlfgencLnd observation,  so as to be useful to them m their every
day  intercourse with  society-that it is destined  to improve our
race remodel the  present  mode of education,  become  useful in
Elation, and  in the government  of  children in families and in
 schools. 
346                  APPENDIX.
  " Resolved, That Ave not only esteem it a duty,  but regard it a
pleasure, to encourage talents, genius and enterprise, wherever Ave
discover them, and in whatever pursuit, if  the object and effect is
the improvement of mankind—that Ave regard Mr. Grimes as pos-
sessing the highest order of intellect, as original in his observations
and deductions, and as destined  to fill a distinguished place  in the
scientific world.

  " Resolved, That we confidently recommend Mr.  Grimes  to the
attention of our felloAV citizens in different sections of our extended
country,  believing they will find him an accomplished lecturer,  a
close, accurate, forcible reasoner, and inimitable in his illustrations
of the science he so triumphantly advocates.
  " Resolved, That Henry Greene, M.  D.,and Professor McKee,
of the Albany Academy, be a committee to present a copy of these
resolutions to  Mr. Grimes, and request  their publication in the
daily papers of the city.
                   « C.  D.  TOWNSEND,  M. D., Chairman.
  "T. W.  Olcott,  Secretary."
  " Prof. Grimes, whose lectures on  phrenolgoy, at Buffalo, Al-
bany, and other cities, have  excited unusual interest, and  elicited
the warmest approbation, proposes to deliver  a course of lectures
in this city immediately.  His System differs materially in its de-
tails from that of Gall,  Spurzheim  and Combe, though resting on
the same general foundation.   We have not  yet  heard  him ; but
from the testimony of friends on whom we can place reliance, we
know that he handles his subject like a master, and that those Avho
can find time to attend his lectures will be entertained and edified."
—New Yorker.
  " Professor Grimes, the phrenologian, whose  original and in-
genious views on phrenological science have caused his lectures  to
be very much followed in our Avestern cities, has arrived here, and
puts up at the Astor.  He brings Avith him most flattering  testi-
monials, from his Excellency the Governor, and others of Albany,
where his last course was delivered.  He proposes, Ave are pleased
to hear, to give an  opportunity to the  citizens of  New York  to
judge of the merits of his discoveries and deductions, in Avhat  he 
APPENDIX.
347
justly terms the science of phreno-physiognomy, embracing all the
phenomena developed  in the  brain, features, and whole organ-
ization, and character and habits of the  individual, as divided into
the  three  great  orders  of  mammalia,  viz :—the carnivores,  the
graminivorce and the rodentim—corroborated by illustrations from
every tribe of  animated nature—the only true  and exact base of
this interesting science."—Ar. Y.  Star.

   " New Theory of Phreno-Physiognomy, by James Stanley Grimes,
Esq.—Mr. Grimes delivered his first  lecture  last night, at the
American Institute, to a  respectable and intelligent  audience.
 Every body present seemed impressed with the truth, force and
 originality of his neAV  vieAvs  on the science  of phreno-physiog-
 nomy.   Mr. Grimes has the merit of making himself clearly under-
 stood, and of presenting his subject under its natural divisions, and
 with great distinctness.  He appealed, in strong and  effective dec-
 lamation, to the common sense  of  all present, and  gave such fa-
 miliar, graphic illustrations of his analysis of the temperaments,
 and of the  language  of the  passions, displaying the powers of
 mimicry and eloquence to great advantage, that all present, Ave be-
 lieve Ave  may with truth say, were convinced that  the theory of
 the Professor is based upon practieal sound sense and indisputable
 facts."—Ibid.

    « Lecture on  Phrenology.—Professor Grimes, we are happy to
 hear, has consented  to repeat his introductory  lecture on  phre-
 nology this evening, at the rooms of the American Institute, rear of
 the City Hall.  The views on the science of phrenology, presented
 by Professor Grimes on Monday evening, were entitely new, and
 elicited a universal request from the  audience for  a repetition on
 this evening, and we trust all who feel an interest in the subject
 Avill attend."—N. Y. Times.
  « The Lectures on Phreno-Physiognomy, by Professor Grimes.-
Mr Grimes will continue his course to-night, at the American In-
stitute   The subject being one of particular interest, viz :-tne
highest range of the ipseal faculties, as he calls them  or tliose pe
culiar  to  man, as distinguished from all other animals.  Mr. G. s
last lecture was received with great approbation,  and fully sus- 
348                  APPENDIX.

tained his bold original theory,  which  has the merit of producing
conviction, because Ave have before remarked, its illustrations are
drawn from the only sure  foundation for these investigations."—
JV. Y. Star.

   " Mr.  Grimes commences a third course of lectures to night,
having been engaged to deliver  the same  before  the Mechanics'
Library Association, at their lecture room, in  Crosby street, near
the corner  of Grand.  The popularity  of this  gentleman is  in-
creasing daily,  as  is evinced by the  flattering demands upon him
by the most respectable literary institutions of our city.
   " We understand,  the lectures  of Mr. Grimes, at the Crosby
street Institute, before the  Mechanics'  and Tradesmens' Library
Association, are so crowded that it is next to impossible to obtain
admission.   Last night a great number had to go aAvay.  We  felt
sure that Avhen  this gifted  and  luminous  expounder of  the only
true laws of phrenological science should have a hearing he would
daily  gain  more and more converts to his vieAvs on this interesting
subject."—N.  Y. Star.

                            Union College, Oct. 21st, 1840.
   The following resolutions Avere passed at a meeting of  the Stu-
dents  of Union College, after attending a course of lectures, deliver-
ed by J. Stanley Grimes, on the subject of Phrenology.
   Resolved, That Professor Grimes, as  a Phrenologist  and  Elocu-
tionist, merits our highest approbation.
   Resolved, That Ave consider his style of lecturing and system of
Phrenology, as evineing diversity of talent, originality of thought,
and extended observation ; and that his is a decided improvement
on all the preceding systems of Phrenology.
   Resolved, That the President appoint a committee to transmit  a
copy of the above to  Prof. Grimes, and also to one  of the editors
of the city papers for publication.     GEORGE WILSON, Pres.
                  Patrick U.  Major, Sec'ry.
  On Friday Evening last, after  J.  Stanley Grimes, Esq. had de-
livered his concluding lecture on Phrenology in the Exchange Sa-
loon of this city, the audienee remained and a meeting was organ-
ized by calling His Excellency, Gov. Edwards, to the Chair, and 
APPENDIX.
349
appointing W. E. Robinson, Secretary.  Whereupon  the following
resolutions were proposed and unanimously adopted :
  Resolved, That Ave have listened Avith increasing interest and de-
light to the course of lectures just  concluded  by James Stanley
Grimes, Esq., on the Science of Phrenology.
  Resolved, That we believe Mr. Grimes has made many valuable
discoveries and improvements in the Science :  That Ave admire his
lucid explanation of the connection and harmony betAveen the or-
gans of the brain and those of the body, and that his classification
and arrangement of the Phrenological organs appear to be founded
in nature.
  Resolved, That we take pleasure  in recommending Mr. Grimes
as a pleasing,  original  and able lecturer,  that, whether in this
country or in Europe, where we understand he  intends to  lecture
on this science, he has our best wishes for his  success and happi-
ness.                                      ,
  Resohdd, That the Secretary of  this meeting be appointed to
present a copy  of these resolutions to Mr. Grimes.
                             WM. E. ROBINSON, Secretary.
  New Haven,  Dec, 12, 1840.

  Mr. Grimes' last lecture in Hudson. —On Friday evening last
Mr. Grimes completed his second course of Lectures on Phrenology,
in this city, before  a numerous and highly respectable audience.
At the close of  the lecture Josiah W. Fairfield, Esq.  made a feAV
appropriate remarks complimentary to  Mr. Grimes, and proposed
that the audience should resolve itself into  a meeting  for the pur-
pose of passing resolutions, expressive of its sense in  regard to
Mr. Grimes' lectures.  Whereupon  Col.  Charles Darling, Avas
called to the Chair, and J. R. S. Van Vleet appointed Secretary.
   J. Sutherland Esq. then rose, and after some remarks expressive
of the pleasure and gratification with Avhich he  had listened to
Mr. Grimes' able exposition of his  system of  Phrenology, offered
the following resolution, which, on motion of J. W. Fairfield, Esq.
Avas adopted.
   Resolved, That we have listened  Avith  high  gratification to the
course of lectures on the science of Phrenology delivered in this
city by Professor Grimes, andAvhich have been this evening comple-
ted.  That  we feel it  due to  Professor Grimes  to  express  our 
350                  APPENDIX.
thanks for the instruction and pleasure his  lectures  have afforded
us, and the  interest  Ave  have  felt  in his able exposition of the
principles of Phrenology.   That his  manner of lecturing is ad-
mirable,  combining amusement with instruction, and Avell calcu-
lated to impress favorably all Avho hear him Avith the principles of v    fa
the science.   That we highly commend his zeal and ability in ad-  Y~if
vancing a science the aim of which is  more perfect knowledge  of  \
intellectual Philosophy and of ourselves.                       '  i£\ |
   The Secretary of the meeting then offered the  following, whi h,
on motion of Cyrus Curtiss, Esq., was also adopted,
   Whereas, the labors of Mr. Grimes  are for the present ended
this city, we deem it a duty Ave owe to him—to the cause of tru':
and to ourselves, that Ave give an expression of the high gratificii
tion with which we have listened to his interesting and instructiA
lectures.   Therefore  be it
   Resolved,  That we approve of his classification of the Phreno
logical organs—of his  explanation  of the temperaments, and o;
his new  system of Phreno-Physiognomy.
   Resolved,  That  we  cheerfully recommend  Mr. Grimes to  the
public, as an  able advocate for his  new and beautiful theory of
the human mind, and from whose teachings Ave have derived in a
high degree, intellectual pleasure and instruction.
   On motion, it was resolved that the proceedings of this meeting
be signed by the Chairman  and Secretary, and published in both
the newspapers in the city.
                          CHARLES DARLING,  Chairman.
                          J. R. S. Van Vleet, Sec'y.
   Hudson, June 6th, 1840.
 
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